Paradise Fire near Hannagan

[azbackpackr]

The Paradise Fire, which was started by lightning on June 7th, but has been managed like a controlled burn for several weeks, continues to grow, and actually grew kind of quickly over the past couple of days. The area closure is larger now, and travel on 191 may be restricted at times. (I am backpacking Bear Wallow Wilderness Sat and Sun, and hope I don't run into a highway closure or too much smoke.) I am going to call Alpine RD the day before to find out more. It is possible to get to Bear Wallow from Hannagan by turning off 191 by Sprucedale, and following FR24.

Good thing I canceled my KP/Blue Peak backpack, because the closure boundary is along the KP trail. Not to mention the fact it would have been very smoky and kind of scary to be that close.

It is getting a little smoky here in Round Valley as well.

For more info, check out inciweb: http://www.inciweb.org/incident/1990/

[azbackpackr]

I posted this elsewhere, it has more info on specific trails:

June 24, 2010: Due to Paradise Fire, please be aware not to plan any hikes in the near future on the following trails east of 191 near Hannagan: Horse Ridge, P-bar Lake, Grant Creek, all of Foote Creek, Steeple Creek, KP Creek. Closure goes ALL THE WAY down to Blue River Road, and the other road boundary is Hwy 191.

Trails that are NOT CLOSED in the area include Bear Wallow Wilderness, Chitty Falls, Fish Creek, Bear Creek, Mainstem Black River.

See inciweb to keep up with information on this fire. http://inciweb.org/incident/1990/

Call Alpine Ranger District for more hiking information: 928-339-5000.

[azbackpackr]

Highway 191 closed until further notice between FR 26 and FR 576. See above link for more info.

[hippiepunkpirate]

The whole northern half of the state seems to be going up in smoke.

[azbackpackr]

BUT...it just started raining at my house! Nah nah nah! ;)

Of course, I don't live in the northern half of the state. (Fold a map and see. Eagar is below the fold.)

[hippiepunkpirate]

Of course, I don't live in the northern half of the state. (Fold a map and see. Eagar is below the fold.)

Fine, the parts of the state containing pine trees and junk. I'm sure your socio-political views coincide better with the northern half of the state anyway!

[azbackpackr]

Mine do. Not my neighbors' though!

I would move to Flag in a heartbeat, although I would miss the total lack of crowds on the trails like we have here.

Guess I would not walk on trails if I lived up there. There, I solved that problem.

Now I just need to get someone to buy my house... Dream on...

[Dschur]

Eastern Arizona Type 2 Incident Management Team




Paradise Fire
Thursday June 24, 2010 9:00 a.m.

Contact: Jonetta Trued, Public Information Officer 520-400-1007
Bill Bishop, Public Information Officer 623-341-4001
Website Info: http://www.inciweb.org
Paradise Fire Location:
· Alpine Ranger District, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest
· 16 miles SSE of Alpine, AZ in Greenlee County
· Approximately 5,340 acres
· Cause and start date: Lightning strike, June 7, 2010

Summary: Wednesday the fire advanced in a northwesterly direction toward US Highway 191, crossing Foote Creek Trail (No. 76) where firefighters had been successfully holding the fire’s progress for two days. Firefighters were forced off the trail during the fire’s highest activity. Several spot fires were extinguished and firefighters began a burnout operation to contain any undetected spot fires. Wednesday’s fire behavior included crowning in the tree tops, spotting, ground fire with flame lengths less than 4 feet, and smoldering in stumps and logs.
Today, handcrews will improve contingency lines on the northwest perimeter, conduct burnout operations along the northern perimeter, prep US Highway 191, and complete plans to protect structures along US Highway 191. Residents and visitors should be aware that public access to US Highway 191 was closed on Wednesday afternoon and is expected to remain closed until further notice.

Resources Assigned: Personnel: Approximately 325, including six Type 1 handcrews (Hotshots), three heavy helicopters, one medium helicopter, one light helicopter, fourteen engines, five water tenders, and one dozer.

Road Closure: US Highway 191 is closed due to heavy smoke and fire conditions, between Forest Road 26 on the north end and Forest Road 576 on the south end. A detour along Forest Road 26 to Forest Road 24 to Forest Road 576 will allow north-south traffic (excluding semi-tractor trailers or vehicles of similar size and weight) to continue.

Area Closure: East side of closure boundary: From Horse Ridge Trailhead south on Horse Ridge Trail #38 to the junction of Foote Creek Trail #76. The closure continues on Foote Creek Trail to Blue Admin Trailhead. South side of the closure boundary: From the Blue Admin Trailhead the closure will follow Greenlee County Road 67004 (the Blue Road) to Steeple Trailhead. The Blue Road will not be included in the closure. From Steeple Trailhead the closure will follow Steeple Trail #73 to the junction of KP Trail #70. From the junction it will follow the KP Trail to the junction of the KP Trail and the North KP Trail #93. West and north side of the closure boundary: From KP Rim Trailhead North along Aker Lake Trail #17 to US Highway 191. Closure follows US Highway 191 north and northwest to Horse Ridge Trail. A map of the closure area is available.

Information on all fire activities in southern Apache and Navajo counties is available by dialing “593” from a Frontier network landline or by dialing (928) 333-3412 from all other locations. This recorded fire information is updated daily.


Modoc IHC
Klamath IHC
Black Mtn IHC
Elk Mtn IHC
Salmon River IHC
Springville IHC

[azbackpackr]

191 is OPEN again since 10 PM last night! Yay!

[conform6073]

@azbackpackr
I am gratified to find someone else noticed we're not in northern Arizona. I suspect anything north of metro Phoenix (the center of the known universe) is considered northern Arizona. But by your reckonning (fold a map), we barely qualify there also.

Regards

[azbackpackr]

@azbackpackr
I am gratified to find someone else noticed we're not in northern Arizona. I suspect anything north of metro Phoenix (the center of the known universe) is considered northern Arizona. But by your reckonning (fold a map), we barely qualify there also.

Regards

Even people who live here haven't looked at a map. Hannagan Meadow is at the same latitude as Bell Road in Phoenix. Eagar and Lakeside are about the same latitude as Black Canyon City.

[azbackpackr]

Lots of vehicles parked along 191 this morning around 9:30 a.m. as I was driving back from an overnight backpacking trip in Bear Wallow Wilderness. I also saw a helicopter with a bucket. There was a big rainstorm down there on Friday, thankfully, and I think they have a handle on this fire and are trying to get it all mopped up so they can go somewhere else.

The forecast is for thunderstorms over the next week. It was raining in Eagar at 10:30 a.m. when I got home.

[azbackpackr]

This fire is being mopped up but I expect the trails are going to be closed for awhile. I'm guessing here, but I bet that trails on the perimeters, such as Horse Ridge and KP may re-open this summer. On the other hand I will bet money that they will discourage people from hiking to Paradise Park, Grant Creek or Moonshine Park for the rest of the summer. Here is a list of currently closed area boundaries:

"An Area Closure remains in effect:

Area Closure: East side of closure boundary: From Horse Ridge Trailhead south on Horse Ridge Trail #38 to the junction of Foote Creek Trail #76. The closure continues on Foote Creek Trail to Blue Admin Trailhead. South side of the closure boundary: From the Blue Admin Trailhead the closure will follow Greenlee County Road 67004 (the Blue Road) to Steeple Trailhead. The Blue Road will not be included in the closure. From Steeple Trailhead the closure will follow Steeple Trail #73 to the junction of KP Trail #70. From the junction it will follow the KP Trail to the junction of the KP Trail and the North KP Trail #93. West and north side of the closure boundary: From KP Rim Trailhead North along Aker Lake Trail #17 to US Highway 191. Closure follows US Highway 191 north and northwest to Horse Ridge Trail. A map of the closure area is available."

[big_load]

Thanks for the update. I'll be sure to check on closures if I'm back in August or September.

[azbackpackr]

There's always Bear Wallow, Black River, Upper and Lower Fish Creek, Bear Creek, Chitty Falls, Schell Canyon, Reno Trail, Gobbler's Point Trail, Red Hill Trail, etc., etc.