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 Cowboy and Cowgirl Herding Cattle Near Wallow Fire Area June 19
Today is the first day that we haven’t seen either fire or smoke or both. At the risk of jinxing us, I will say that Wallow fire is going to spare Eagle Creek and the Double Circle Ranch. Right now the winds are wailing and blowing about 45mph from the SW – towards the fire from us. That protects us another day. But I am afraid Wallow is heading for our neighbors on the Blue River. Hopefully the fire breaks will hold. Apparently Wallow breached the fire break near Luna, NM and now the town has been evacuated. Tomorrow the wind is supposed to shift to from the NE – so we may get fire activity again.
We are not hearing any tanker helicopters this afternoon. I expect the wind is too dangerous. Probably they will start flying early before the afternoon wind. Everything is so dry that there was a problem finding water sources to fill the tanker planes and choppers. The mine has opened some of their wells to fill the choppers. If they hadn’t there would be nowhere close to get water to help stop the fire.
It does seem that a natural disaster brings out the best in people. Everyone is trying to help each other. But that is the rural lifestyle too. Out here you need to help your neighbor-they are few and far between. And outside help is hours away- maybe even days away.
 Horses Under Rainbow during Monsoons Eagle Creek watershed is mostly intact – so far. Only the upper reaches have had the Wallow fire on them. Even so we will be impacted. The Wallow fire has another side – floods. With the vegetation burned away and lots of bare ground, there is nothing to absorb the monsoon rains.
The last fire we had in that same area brought black soot and charcoal flowing down Eagle Creek. Our creek is usually clear and beautiful, full of life. It turned black and smelled of all the dead fish on the banks. It was horrible. About the only thing not affected were the crawdads – they seem to survive most anything. Healthy crawdads and stressed fish populations are a bad combination. The crawdads are not native and feed on small fish. They can really impact fish populations.
Right now Eagle Creek is flowing clear. Maybe I’ll go take a swim this afternoon.
 Monsoon Rain Needed to Quench Wallow Fire The Wallow fire is partially under control and already the Forest Service and other agencies are preparing for the next disaster – massive floods. Everyone has been advised to buy flood insurance immediately. With all the vegetation burned away in such a huge area, there is nothing to slow down and absorb the monsoon rains. When the rains start, generally around the Fourth of July, the water will sluice off the mountains like a huge waterslide. Floods may do nearly as much damage as the fire. So we will get a double whammy.
I guess the monsoons will be a mixed blessing when they get here. They will put out Wallow fire – and the other fires burning now – and certainly grow grass for the wildlife. Plus the plants are stressed severely in this drought. Good rains would save many of them. We need the rain badly. But heavy rains with no vegetation, means mudslides, major erosion, pollution in our streams, possible – even probable – structural damage to roads, houses, bridges, and danger to all critters including people. Maybe we could get nice slow, gentle rains for three months – what are the odds of that?
 Wind Blown Willow and Barn June 18
I was hoping to have nothing but good news on the Wallow fire. But I guess I was ahead of myself. The fire is 500,000+ acres with 44% containment. We still have no rain in the 10-day forecast and now there is another issue. Winds are terrific and that really hampers fire fighting. Here at the cabin it blew my clothesline down. I have used extra clothespins on everything for weeks. If something light like a facecloth blows off the line, it is history. It probably will be in New Mexico by dark. But since the wind couldn’t loosen clothes off the line, it just broke the line and dropped everything in the dirt. Oh well, such is life without regular electricity. Solar won’t run clothes dryers.
But rewashing laundry is nothing compared to trying to control a huge fire in this wind. We are expecting 60mph gusts all weekend. That creates a safety issue for the fire crews as well as making their already hard jobs much more difficult. I see on the updates that there are 10 injuries to date. That amazes me actually. With 4300+ people working round the clock on a 780 square mile fire, 10 is a very small number. It goes to show that the crews are well trained and competent. Bless them.
It seems early mornings at the Double Circle are not windy. Doug is trying to finish a new barn roof tomorrow before both the heat and the wind. You just can’t roof in 100 degree temps with a 60 mph wind- not happening. Personally, I try to avoid any job that put me higher in the air than the saddle on a tall horse. Heights are not my strong suit.
We all are hoping that this wind storm won’t let the fire breach fire breaks and spread even further. Eagle Creek is still not entirely out of danger. We do have helicopters hauling water to dump on the south and southeast lines, but I haven’t heard them all day. I suppose they can’t fly in this wind. Hopefully they can make a few early morning runs before the wind starts back. Meantime we keep looking north and watching the smoke plumes. That is an entertainment I would like to do without.
 Wild Turkeys in Wallow Fire Smoke June 16.
Wallow fire is at 18% containment as of last night. Let’s hope the firefighters keep gaining on it. I was thinking about the deer and elk in the fire area. Then I realized that the fire has burned through at least 3 denning areas of the Mexican Grey Wolf. Each had pups. No one knows if they – or the adults – survived yet. Some radio collars are still working – so some adults did survive. But with only 50 or so of the wolves alive in the wild, even 1 death is tragic. The dens were in timber country where the fire was hot. Hopefully the pups made it through the smoke and flames. Losing 3 sets of wild born wolf pups would be a big setback for the wolf recovery plan.
Right now all recovery and reintroduction of the Mexican Gray Wolf will be stopped until an assessment of damage and available prey can be made. That could take a long time. A lot of hard work and dedication went into the wolf program. I hope the fire hasn’t erased years of effort.
 Cow Elk and Calf in Eagle Creek Riparian June 15
Wallow fire is still burning – but not on Eagle Creek or the Double Circle. We do have smoke. Even Clifton and Morenci 35 miles south of us have smoke alert notices for poor visibility and health issues.
I wonder how the wildlife is doing? We seem to have more mule deer and Javelina than common along Eagle Creek. Also there are lots of whitetail deer in the higher parts of the ranch. No one can go in the backcountry, so I can’t say how much wildlife has drifted south ahead of Wallow fire for sure. Along the roads it does seem that more deer have migrated here. They will be safe along the Eagle Creek riparian. We have several herds of elk too – but that isn’t uncommon. The antelope tend to stay here in the grassland year round so they will be fine as long as the fire breaks hold.
I hope we don’t lose a lot of wildlife to this fire. I expect newborns and small animals will fare the worse. The critters are another loss from Wallow Fire that is hard to estimate. Besides, who can put a value on loss of life?
 Back Burn Above Honeymoon Well, it is official. The Wallow fire is the largest in Arizona history at 469,000+ acres. 4 commercial buildings, 32 residences, and 36 out buildings have been lost so far. Without the 4000+ firefighters working round the clock, the toll would have been much worst.
Here at the Double Circle Ranch there are three BIG smoke plumes – closer than ever. Doug has gone to check on our neighbors to the north. The back fires have to be close to their place. Now the winds are supposed to blow from the fire towards us all week. It could get ugly here real quick.
We haven’t packed an emergency bag yet. Maybe we should. I guess we just can’t face the possibility of losing miles of fencing and water lines plus solar – everything we have worked so hard to get in place here. We just keep watching and hoping.
 Wallow Fire South Perimeter Containment The Wallow fire crews believe they have Eagle Creek protected. The back burns they set are huge. I don’t know how they keep them under control. Also, what in the world do they use to cause such a huge blaze instantly (seems instantly at least from here)? The first flare up I saw I thought the wildfire had gotten closer and caught a bunch of dead pine or something on fire. Honestly, the back burns look as big as the Wallow fire.
I am sure the crews – over 4000 people now – know what they are doing. I would never have the nerve to set fires like these back fires in this dry country with gusty winds. The Wallow fire is 450,000+ acres and 10% contained. When you see on maps of the Wallow fire just how many square miles are involved, it really drives home how large Double Circle Ranch was in its glory days. It was a million acres – over twice Wallow burn. With 30,000+ cows Double Circle Ranch must have had one heck of a cattle gather!
Meantime I am grateful for 10% containment on Wallow and hope to see the percentage increase every day. Thanks to all the crews who risk their lives fighting these huge wildfires!
 Wallow Fire Smoke in the Mornings It looks like Double Circle Ranch and Eagle Creek are going to be spared in the Wallow fire. Wallow fire is now over 430,000 acres and is 6% contained. It gets windy everyday it seems and has for three weeks or better. Early in the morning we have lots of smoke making it hard to see and breathe. When the wind starts, the smoke clears out, but the flames spread too. We still have some lines of fire working down the mountain toward us, but the fire fighters have built a fire break that is supposed to stop the fire before it hits our dry grasslands and juniper forest. I sure hope it works.
Eagle Creek has only one road in and out. Right now it is not blocked and hopefully will stay that way. So we can leave if we have too – but ranchers are always reluctant to leave livestock and a lifetime of work behind. We just keep one eye on the north and go about our lives – with restrictions of course.
I know the people north of us have really had a hard time with almost 30 homes lost and many evacuations. I can only imagine what the beautiful forest there must look like today. What a loss.
 Wallow Fire on the San Carlos Reservation and Rose Peak June 10.
The Wallow fire is up to over 408,000 acres with 5% containment. Here at the Double Circle not too much changed today. The smoke from the fire was intense until late morning – the wind didn’t start blowing until 10:30 or so. The fire has run down the hills farther and so is a little closer. But the fire crews back-burned to stop fire spread, and hopefully it will keep the fire from Eagle Creek. They built a fire break up by Malay Gap to stop the fire.
It was HOT this afternoon. I can’t imagine how the fire crews must feel in their heavy outfits fighting the smoke and blaze in these mountains. That is a hard, tough job.
On the other hand, the restrictions will stay in effect until we get some rain. That means I can’t ride and find the last 25 or so steers I am missing. Also, I can’t herd the cattle to control grazing. Plus all fence work our Apache crew was doing is on standby until rain. We can’t fuse pipe, set water tanks, or place troughs – basically do any ranch work. It seems really strange to not saddle up and herd the longhorns. Maybe monsoons will arrive early.
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