News

The Arizona Game & Fish Department has made the very difficult decision to cancel its popular High Country Hummers event for 2011, citing the potential for flash flooding following Wallow fire.

The Wallow, the largest wildfire in Arizona history, has affected over a half million acres (840 square miles). The cause is still under investigation but is believed to have been an escaped campfire.

According to Bruce Sitko, Information and Education Program Manager for AGFD, the fire severely burned several square miles of forest habitat in the Rudd Creek watershed south of Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area. The access road into the wildlife area crosses one of the affected drainages.

The U.S. Forest Service’s Burned Area Emergency Response Team is working to conduct aerial seeding with native grasses on severely burned slopes adjacent to communities and private properties throughout the White Mountains area. Until new vegetation becomes established and soils stabilize, severe flash flood events are expected across the landscapes impacted by the Wallow Fire. In the interim, AGFD staff will be keeping the Sipe Wildlife Area open to the public as much as possible by clearing the access road after each flooding event.

Our thoughts are with our AGFD and USFS colleagues and other residents of the White Mountains who have been affected by this fire, especially those who have lost their homes.

The Horseshoe 2 Fire in the Chiricahua Mountains continues to burn, though mostly away from residences. It has reached 210,311 acres with 75% containment. Additional updates can be found at the Friends of Cave Creek Canyon page on Facebook.

The Monument Fire in the Huachuca Mountains is also still active, reaching 20,956 acres on the U.S. side with 27% containment plus another 1526 acres in Mexico. The fire jumped Hwy 92 at least twice and burned for a time into the grasslands. So far almost 50 homes have been lost to the fire, mainly in the areas of Stump and Ash canyons, and approximately 12,000 people have been evacuated so far. Today is shaping up to be another very bad day for fire crews, with strong winds (gusts to 50 mph) pushing the fire toward north toward the dense residential development along the southern edge of Sierra Vista. Scanner monitoring indicates that the fire has jumped to the Reef in Carr Canyon but has not yet entered Ramsey Canyon, and that additional structures are involved. Additional updates can be found on the Monument Fire page on Facebook.

The Antelope Fire on Fort Huachuca burned for only a few hours. It was started by a spark from a bulldozer blade hitting a rock and threatened the very dense residential development along Buffalo Soldier Trail on the southwest side of Sierra Vista. Areas affected appear to be mainly grassland and desert scrub that should recover very quickly once the "monsoon" rains begin.

The Wallow Fire in the White Mountains of east-central Arizona has become the largest fire in the state's history. It has affected 511,118 acres and is 44% contained. 

A few cumulus clouds built up over the mountains and valleys yesterday afternoon, but no rain is predicted for the foreseeable future.

The Sierra Vista Herald reports that a "massive" fire has broken out at Coronado National Memorial, at the southern end of the Huachuca Mountains. Residents in the vicinity of the memorial are being evacuated, and Ramsey Canyon Preserve has reportedly closed in response.

The closure order for the Coronado National Forest reads, in part:

PROHIBITIONS:
Pursuant to 16 USC 551 and 36 CFR 261.50(a), the following acts are prohibited in the area described as ALL public lands under the jurisdiction and proclaimed boundaries of the Coronado National Forest in the Arizona Counties of Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Cochise and Graham, and the New Mexico County of Hidalgo County:

1. Going into or being upon the Coronado National Forest. 36 CFR 261.52(e).
2. Smoking in the Coronado National Forest. 36 CFR 261.52(c).

The temporary closure applies to all ranger districts of the Coronado National Forest, and includes visitor centers, campgrounds, picnic areas, trails, summer cabins, organization camps and all other public uses not exempted below. District Rangers may authorize use for specifically permitted activities through letters of specific exemption from the closure. Violation of the closure is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000, or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.

To accommodate public recreation use while meeting concerns over the unprecedented fire danger, the Forest will provide for limited use of Sabino Canyon and Mt. Lemmon in the exemptions below.

EXEMPTIONS:
Pursuant to 36 CFR 261.50(e), the following persons are exempt from Prohibition 1 only (exempt persons are still prohibited from smoking on the Coronado):

1. Persons with a Forest Service letter of permission specifically authorizing the otherwise prohibited act or omission.
2. Any Federal, State, or local law enforcement officer or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty.
3. Forest Service employees in the performance of an official duty.
4. Owners and residents of private lands within the boundary of the Coronado National Forest.
5. Persons visiting the Sabino Canyon Visitor Center between the hours of dawn and dusk and persons using the paved Sabino Canyon Road between the hours of dawn and dusk.
6. Persons using the Catalina Highway for between the hours of dawn and dusk for non-stop access through the restricted area to the Ski Valley complex, the Palisades Visitor Center, and private lands at Summerhaven.
7. Persons travelling on State Route 83 (Sonoita Highway), State Route 82 (Nogales-Sonoita Highway), State Route 366 (Swift Trail), State Route 289 (Ruby Road), or County roads through the Coronado National Forest unless a road is specifically closed by the agency managing that road; all National Forest System roads are closed on the Coronado.

If noncompliance becomes an issue, exemptions to the closure may be changed. The closure will be lifted when significant moisture is received to reduce the wildfire threat to manageable levels.

We are waiting to hear from the local district ranger about acquiring a letter of permission to allow SABO to offer bird walks and personalized guide services in the Huachuca Mountains during the closure. If you have a birding trip scheduled over the next three weeks, please use the RSS subscription link at the top of this page for updates.

A little good news from the fire front: The Arizona Game & Fish Departments reports that the Wallow Fire, now the second largest wildfire in the state's history, has bypassed the main buildings at Sipe White Mountain Wildlife Area near Springerville, thanks to the valiant efforts of department personnel. From the report:

On Monday evening, June 6, the fire burned into Sipe from the south. Department personnel had worked all day Monday to soak the buildings and surrounding grounds to deter structure loss. Once the fire hit the grassland flats, it laid down and went around the buildings to the east about 100 yards out. The meadows and mesas to the south, east and north were pretty well hit. None of the main structures were lost; however, the fire did consume the historic Nelson homestead cabin built in the late 1800s on the south end of the property.

Plenty of wildlife rode the Monday evening fire out at Sipe, including elk, pronghorn and numerous birds. On Tuesday morning, there were several ducks on the entrance pond with young-of-the-year. A hummingbird nest with mom and two babies survived the 50-plus mph winds on Monday evening. There were numerous hummingbirds flying and songbirds calling, and a red-tailed hawk was observed trying to catch a rabbit.

Sipe hosts the annual High Country Hummers event in late July. We'll post updates about the status of this year's event as soon as we hear from our colleagues at AGFD.

We send our sincere thanks to the firefighters and support staff battling this and other blazes and deepest sympathies to those who have lost homes to these disasters.

The newest addition to our business member directory is Twin Cottage Industries, which employs young adults with mental illness and women with a need to work from home. Their bookmarks, eyeglass lanyards, key clips, zipper pulls, cell phone charms, and water bottle charms are all handcrafted in the U.S.A.

For several years co-owner Carol Amos has donated TCI merchandise to SABO for resale to support our hummingbird banding projects. In belated recognition of her generosity, we've added TCI to our list of In-Kind Contributors. Many thanks to Carol and her business partner (and identical twin sister) Kathy Getto for their continuing support!

Tom Beatty, Sr. provided the following information on access to tehe guest ranch during the forest closure:

1. Only paying Guests with invoices will be allowed to drive up, with no stopping and no walking off our property. They must park on our property.

2. CAS Hummingbird Viewing Birders are considered paying Guest only if they have a CAS Viewing invoice that states the fees. You can email, with date and number of birders in party, and I will email an invoice.

I asked about this because I know some birders/tours that come from afar will be affected by the closure the most, and this should help them some.

3. Carr Canyon's gate will be locked at start of US Forest land/end of pavement.

4. Miller Canyon gate not firm yet, could only be signs or something moveable. I said I'm okay with a locked gate!

Note: All other people will be turned away and remember fines can be up to $5000.

The Coronado National Forest will close June 9 due to extreme fire danger. This includes popular birding locations such as Miller Canyon, Madera Canyon, and Sabino Canyon. The canyons on Fort Huachuca (Garden, Scheelite, Sawmill, Huachuca, etc.) will close as well, but The Nature Conservancy's Ramsey Canyon Preserve reportedly will remain open (but with no national forest access).

We're working on a plan to provide supervised access to the national forest for birders during the closure - watch for updates here and on SABO's Facebook page.

Coronado National Forest Home Page

A wildfire (almost certainly of human origin) has broken out in the Chiricahua Mountains. The town of Portal has been evacuated, and all or most of the popular birding areas in and near Cave Creek Canyon are expected to be closed. The fire is so new that it hasn't been posted to the Coronado National Forest home page, but it is listed on InciWeb as the "Horseshoe Two" fire. The fire does not appear to be threatening Chiricahua National Monument at this time, but closures of forest roads may affect access to Rustler Park and Barfoot Park.

For updates, visit the Coronado National Forest Home Page, the Horseshoe Two page at InciWeb, and the Chiricahua National Monument Home Page.

We have added the following critically important update to SABO's Guide to Birding Hot Spots:

On April 12, 2011, the Cochise County Board of Supervisors revoked a previously issued business permit for the wildlife-viewing operation at Ash Canyon B&B, based on objections from owners of several neighboring properties. The site remains open to day visitors (as well as overnight guests) on a donation basis but is currently limited to 6 normal passenger vehicles at a time. No RVs or buses are allowed, there is no overflow parking, and parking is prohibited along Spring Road and Turkey Track Road. If you arrive to find all parking spaces filled, you must leave and return later. Visitors are advised to carry precise directions to the site to avoid getting lost. Do not approach neighbors for directions or use private driveways as turnarounds.