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 Wallow Fire Smoke in the Morning June 9, 2011 June 9th.
Another smoky morning for us on the edge of the Arizona Wallow Fire. Early mornings seem always to be socked in, but clear when the daily winds pick up. The good news for us on Eagle Creek is that the hotshot crews here think they have stopped the fire’s spread in our direction. We have our fingers crossed on that. The bad news is for our neighbors farther north. There have been 29 homes lost – most of them in Greer. It looks hopeful that Springerville and Eager will be ok. Here at the Double Circle we have no evacuation notice – and hopefully won’t get one. I would hate to leave my cattle to the mercy of a 386,690+ acre wildfire.
The winds are changing and are supposed to blow from the north. Hopefully sparks from the fire won’t blow here and start more fires. There is now 5% containment on the Wallow fire. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but it sure beats 0% containment. There are over 3000 people working to control the Wallow fire. We and our neighbors appreciate all the HARD work and risk they take to protect both towns and isolated ranches like ours. They are a tough breed of folks. Their work makes gathering cattle and ranching seem like an easy lifestyle. Thanks to everyone helping on Wallow fire!
 Herding Texas Longhorns Jeremy Balderrama is here working as a ranch hand intern. He is an absolute breath of fresh air – makes you have confidence in the younger generation. He is a college student with major in Animal Science and a minor in Criminal Justice – and a second minor that I can’t remember offhand. Jeremy is smart, well-mannered, upbeat, athletic (rugby player), and a WORKER. He has gathered cattle, fed/watered horses, put a crippled steer out of its misery, repaired fence, moved hay, set water tanks and troughs, pulled water lines, among other ranch projects. No matter what the task at hand, Jeremy jumps in and does his best on everything. He is just a nice young man with a bright future and a great attitude. Too bad he has another year of school – we might shanghai him otherwise.
 Wallow Fire on the Mogollon Rim The Wallow fire has grown to 388,000 acres and still has zero containment. It looks like it may break the Arizona worst fire record, which is one record no one wants to see topped!
Our neighbors, Gary and Darcy Ely, loaded dogs and horses and pulled out this morning. The smoke at their ranch was too thick to breathe freely. The Elys have the 4 Drag ranch at the north end of Eagle Creek. They are 2 ranches north of us, about 12 miles. The smoke lifted here with the daily high winds we have been having.
We can clearly see flames on the mountains north of us. The winds have been from west or south west, and that has helped keep the fire off Eagle Creek. The winds are expected to shift to from the north tonight. I guess we will see what that causes when we get up in the morning.
The hotshot crews are considering a burn back fire about 1 mile from the 4 Drag to burn out vegetation and create a fire break today.We hope it works. Doug and I don’t want to load up and leave everything to the mercy of the fire. But it could happen. Unfortunately, there are no rain storms expected in the near future.
So – it is wait and see here at the Double Circle. The Forest Service emailed everyone to not do any work that may cause a spark. The whole country is a tinderbox. We sent our fence crew home days ago. Now we have been told to not even move our cattle. I am just opening gates between pastures. I will regather and start herding again when this emergency is over. I sure hope that is soon.
 Wallow Fire Getting Closer Another day and the Wallow fire is still closer. 4 Drag ranch has lost fences – brand new, finished-this-week fences. That is a ranch disaster. 4 Drag is only 2 ranches north of us. There are many runs down the rim toward Eagle Creek instead of the initial two smoke trails. Our neighbors Ed and Edie Fitch live several miles north of us. The fire is moving straight at them. We do have several hotshot trucks setting back fires to keep the fire out of Eagle Creek. The trucks say “San Bernardino hot shot team.” I wish them lots of luck. There are at least 10 structures lost to flames so far – I think in Alpine. I sure would hate to lose our homes, barns, water systems etc. We could never replace them.
 A Lot of Fuel Between Here and the Wallow Fire
 Wallow Fire Burning in Mountains Just North of the Ranch It is June 6 and the Wallow fire just keeps growing. We went up the driveway to watch the flames run down the Mogollon Rim toward Eagle Creek. So far the wind is blowing from the West or South which means away from the Double Circle. If the winds change, we could be in the next round of evacuations. I worry about how the cattle would survive, but we would be lucky to haul horses and dogs – and ourselves out of here. The cattle would be on their own. Hopefully, we will never learn if they could survive or not.
The smoke is terrible in the morning but clears out when the wind starts. Of course these 25-40 mph winds sure don’t help the fire fighters. Speaking of fire fighters – there are 2300 of them now and the fire is 233,500+ acres with still zero containment. Goodness knows what the land will be like when the fires are gone.
 Sunset Lights Up the Clouds and Smoke of the Wallow Fire Well, the big news here is not good news. The ranch is completely socked in with smoke from the Wallow wildfire just north of us. What was started, apparently by a person, has spread from a spark to 180,000+ acres of uncontained fire with trees torching 100-150 feet and flames moving miles every day. Several areas have been evacuated already and more are on standby. The extremely dry conditions coupled with high winds have made controlling this fire a real challenge. Not that the Forest Service and other fire fighting agencies are not trying. There are over 1,300 people plus helicopters, tanker planes, and heavy equipment working as a coordinated team to control this blaze – at a cost of millions and growing.
We are south of the fire. But we got an email from the Forest Service saying that the winds may change to South instead of the North blowing winds we have had since the fire started May 29. So – we may end up evacuating also. The problem is protecting not only our houses, barns, and equipment but also our livestock. Dogs and horses could be moved – given enough time and having a place to put the horses. But the cattle??? It is a real concern and a downright scary situation.
Let’s all hope and pray for a good frog strangling rain – heck we would settle for a good hard shower. So it is wait, watch, and see here at Double Circle Ranch. Not that you can see over 100 feet in any direction today.
 RickCioppa Heading to the Ranch on Motorcycle Rick Cioppa, Forrest’s brother, stopped at the Double Circle on his way across country on his BMW. I always like to meet adventuresome folks, and Rick and Forrest surely qualify. Rick is a lot like his older brother – full of life and fun, smart and pleasant. Plus he is a working machine. Rick jumped in and worked on the shop roof, checked fence, moved steers off bluffs on foot, and even helped cook and do dishes. Now that is about a perfect guest. Actually, Rick feels a lot more like family than a visitor. He will always have a spot at the Double Circle. We hope to see him again soon.
 Participants in a Previous Erosion Control Workshop I am thrilled to have our dates for the next erosion control workshops at Double Circle Ranch. We were fortunate to be funded by Arizona Water Protection Commissioners for 3 more workshops. This fall we will have a workshop on October 14th, 15th, and 16th. The price is great – free. Free instruction, free camping and even free meals.
The training with Craig Sponholtz of Dryland Solutions, Inc. is hard to beat and the skills learned can be easily applied at your home or work. This is a worthwhile project designed to protect Eagle Creek with its endangered species habitat as well as forage and soil upland. You learn by doing. And it is always fun. We have great volunteers from all over the country with varied ages, backgrounds, and erosion control experience. I always enjoy the time spent with these hard working folks – they have become my friends and many return to visit and help on other projects.
There is only one workshop this year. We have another one scheduled for April 13, 14, 15 of 2012 and the third for October 12, 13, 14, 2012. So sign up ASAP. We limit our volunteer numbers to 30 so Craig can spend lots of time with everyone. Look for our dates to be added on our program list on the website – or just respond to this blog. I’ll hold a spot for you.
 Cowgirl Liv Visgirda Movin the Herd We have a new volunteer/intern. Liv Visgirda is here from California to learn more about ranching and sustainable agriculture. She is working on her Masters and studying wolf conservation, so the Double Circle Ranch with the Mexican Grey wolf and herded Texas Longhorns is a perfect fit with her education. She is seeing first hand – from the back of a cowpony – how we keep wolves away from our herd and avoid depredation.
Liv arrived right when we were gathering from a winter pasture and moving the cattle several miles to another pasture. The new pasture is slated for a prescribed burn to thin juniper encroachment this fall. So it needed grazed ASAP so the grass would have time to regrow for fire fuel by the burn dates.
So Liv has put a lot of saddle time in. But she also has helped roof a workshop. She can add using a nail gun and an impact driver to her resume. Today everyone is working to get the metal roof on the workshop before the afternoon winds pick up. No one can put 21-foot long tin on rafters in a 20+ mph wind.
 Putting a Roof on the Ranch Shop Building Once the wind starts and roofing stops, Liv will be helping do forage monitoring. Plus she will be keeping an eye out for the last elusive six head of Texas Longhorns in the pasture just used. It is no easy task to find six steers in about 10,000 acres on 2 pastures. It does help to have all colors of cattle. Sometimes the white or spotted steers are easier to see on far ridges.
So we are glad to have Liv’s help. She never complains and is always ready to pitch in, even with the not-so-fun chores like weeding the butterfly garden. Plus she works on her Masters in the evenings – definitely a high energy, motivated gal. Thanks Liv!!
 Mexican Gray Wolf Hawks Nest Alpha Female by Jean Ossorio Earlier I posted some of Tom Whetten’s great photos of wolves – but the wolves are not Mexican Gray wolves like are being reintroduced in our area. I believe Tom took these shots in Montana, maybe Wyoming. While I have seen several wolves at Double Circle Ranch, I have not been able to get a photograph.
Now I have received a Mexican Gray Wolf photo taken last May by Jean Ossorio. This is a shot of the Hawks Nest alpha female. Also, check out the Arizona Game and Fish Department web page about wolves and coyotes that shows how to distinguish these wolves from coyotes.
Thank you Jean – both for the post and picture and for all the volunteer hours you spend working for wolf recovery efforts in New Mexico and Arizona.
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