Over 430,000 acres have been burned. Greer has lost 22 homes and the Wallow Fire is currently only 6 percent contained. It has become the second largest fire in Arizona’s history.
And it was human caused.
Nobody likes restrictions, but at what point does the danger outweigh the enjoyment of an outdoor campfire? A campout isn’t the same without a fire, but a campout also isn’t the same without any trees.
Arizona needs to set campfire restrictions in its state parks. Two fires with over 400,000 acres burned in the last decade should be enough of a warning. The dry surroundings and the lack of fire safety awareness make a bad combination.
Now, not all campers are without fire safety knowledge, but this time of year calls for extra vigilance. Out cold means out cold with your hand one inch away from the coals.
Arizona cannot afford to treat its forests like the rest of the country. Arizona is an extremely dry place, even in the high country. Things have to be different.
This story is repetitive but it can’t become dull to the public. A forest takes much longer to heal than people think, and many of these fires destroy land that will never recover in our lifetime.
Maybe the answer is to ban fires during the summer, which would easily spark outrage from local campers who thrive on traveling north during the hot Valley summers. But how much can you count on a large group of unproven campers to be smart in the forest?
Control burns, tree removal and fire education hasn’t prevented the worst Arizona fire since 2002.
Thankfully no one has been hurt in this fire, which is amazing for 400,000 acres of scorched earth.
