Woodbury Fire - Superstition Wilderness

[chumley]

Burning near Woodbury Trailhead. It has grown to 500 acres. I'll post official links as soon as they're up.

The smoke plume does not look good.

Inciweb

Updated 2019-07-16 123,875 Acres - 100% Contained
[ Woodbury Fire Perimeter :: map ]

[big_load]

I hope Tony Ranch Spring won't be affected.

[pixelfrog]

I thought Fish Creek was gonna escape but looks like the fire is headed back around to engulf it. Too sad!

[nonot]

Fire is going crazy today and looks like it took out the two-bar mountain area. I'm guessing the map is reflecting back burns being conducted from Roosevelt and 188?

[tibber]

not sure why we were seeing so much smoke (a light layer) driving in on the 17 an hour ago. Would it have spread that far east?

[JosephElfelt]

Fire is going crazy today and looks like it took out the two-bar mountain area. I'm guessing the map is reflecting back burns being conducted from Roosevelt and 188?

Latest MODIS satellite data shows the Mud Spring Canyon area burned today.
https://mappingsupport.com/p2/gissurfer ... Z,Woodbury

[nonot]

not sure why we were seeing so much smoke (a light layer) driving in on the 17 an hour ago. Would it have spread that far east?

Looks like a small fire around badger springs next to the highway?

[tibber]

I just found the "smoke" map and I think the smoke was from the Woodbury fire as the Badger Springs wasn't burning anywhere that we could see.

[LARichardson73]

And I am in the middle of moving from Phoenix to Gold Canyon. One of the main attractions was, of course, the proximity to Peralta Trailhead and The Superstitions.

[chumley]

@LARichardson73
You'll still be equally close to both.

[LARichardson73]

@chumley
I know. It's not like it's going anywhere. Just a bit of a bummer that it's gonna be burnt out. Geez. It's painful to process.

[big_load]

And I am in the middle of moving from Phoenix to Gold Canyon. One of the main attractions was, of course, the proximity to Peralta Trailhead and The Superstitions.

That has weighed on my mind, too. Mrs. big_load continues to prefer Phoenix over other AZ landing spots because most of her family is there. Changes in the Supes may affect my calculation.

[wildwesthikes]

Like a couple of you I have recently been considering moving from Phoenix to east Mesa to be closer to the Supers myself. Despite this fire I'm still probably going to do that. Yes we have lost much of the central & eastern parts. It's a damn shame. The most popular areas are still intact (a guess based solely on GIS maps, which are of course only an approximation). With closures in effect till it looks like 8/31, it will be impossible to know how far west it burned until we can go in there and take some photos.

I'm curious myself about the fate of Whiskey Spring Canyon, Peter's Trail area, Red Tanks and especially LaBarge Spring. Looks like fire got within spitting distance of the tree stands over there. Charlebois seems to have scraped by (?). Most of what is within reach of Peralta and 1st water seem to be ok.

[AK]

Like a couple of you I have recently been considering moving from Phoenix to east Mesa

I live in NE Mesa and its so close to everything (time wise) yet borders Tonto National Forest. The 202 is 3 mins away, the salt river is 5 mins down the hill, Bush Hwy-Beeline-Payson, Apache trail/Supes, tons of wildlife......its a great area.

[chumley]

And buying meth is easy too! ;)

[LARichardson73]

@chumley HaHa. Not as easy as my current location in west Phoenix.

[AK]

And buying meth is easy too! ;)

Whoa easy on the AJ folks! ;)

[SuperstitionGuy]

Once the fire is out and the temperatures are back to normal I suspect most of you will be on the trails to see what has happened to the Supes. You can expect less shade and more open views of the mountains around you. If your interested in off trail travel there will be less catclaw and other plant life to hinder your explorations. The old ranching ruins built with wood will be gone but you will find more Indian sites as they will be more visible. As for the mining sites they will also be easier to find and the tools left behind by the miners minus the wooden handles will be more apparent. You may have to carry more water as many of the springs will be dry and your clothes, shoes and socks will pay the price for hiking through a burned out area. All told it will still be a good experience although maybe not for photography. I look forward to your posts of the Superstitions and conditions you find. I am to old to do any serious hiking out their but I will be probing a few of my favorite spots and report back what I find. It will be different for sure but it will still be "The supes".

[big_load]

you will find more Indian sites as they will be more visible

I'm counting on this. I've found small traces in quite a few places that I wish I had more time to explore closely.

You may have to carry more water as many of the springs will be dry

This will be the big challenge for me. Once upon a time I didn't think twice about having to carry in three gallons or to refill to that level at any water source. Now I don't like to go over two gallons if I can avoid it, even though I'm a good bit stronger now than I was back then.

[LARichardson73]

@SuperstitionGuy I like your attitude! This fire is a major bummer for sure. But the land’s not going anywhere. I look forward to exploring once this is over.

[big_load]

Here's Mrs. big_load on the Barnhard Trail 11/20/04, not long after the Willow Fire. She called it hiking through the charcoal forest. That night there was an intense thunderstorm, with flash flooding all around us. We listened to burned out Ponderosa snags falling one after another all night long. Then it snowed six inches.

I've hiked in quite a few burns and I take interest in the details of the recovery. Although it's not nearly as enjoyable to me, I'll probably be out there in November.