evacuation warning

[Christina R.]

I'm going to post this on the two main boards I frequent. Our particular neighborhood is under an evacuation warning due to the fire that has now spread into Oak Creek Canyon. I may be naive, but I don't think it will go beyond a warning. We are still a good 15 miles away from where in the canyon the fire is. In a bit, I'll put things together in a box. Just pray for our neck of the woods; as I was heading home a fire had started in East Flagstaff. I wish people were way more cautious than they have been. Thanks.

[Up North]

What will become of the "Little Doggies"? - Stay Safe Out There!

[Sprout]

Ride, rent, borrow every tractor you can and disc a wide fire break around your farm. In the future you should do this before fire season and keep it clear with pre-emergent and weedkiler. Fire's can travel fast it's not unheard of for one to travel a few miles in less than an hour. If the conditions are right they could be at your doorstep in three. Please don't be "naive" and just sit there. Firefighters are not stupid nor do they want to wast your time or theirs. They post warning when there is a threat and will force you to evacuate and they won't care about your cattle. They'll truck you off and leave them to fend for themselves.

[BrahmaMama]

Sending positive vibes your way ~ be safe!

(Don't forget to pack water)

[woodspirit]

I've been there a few times, and it is a magical place. I saw it snowing in the desert. Snowing hard. But the ground would dry up the snow as soon as it touched the ground. I think the temp was in the 70's. You would see lightning strikes everywhere during storms and then you'd come across a huge cactus that is still smokin from the lightning strike. Very cool place but too hot and dry for me. But very surreal place.

[milkinpigs]

If we have any rain coming, you can have it!

[needstoknowmore]

Stay safe. Yes get some stuff together to be ready to go "NOW". Prayers coming your way.

[Tango]

Do you have a plan for your livestock? I sure hope it gets put out before it causes any more damage. So much is dry this year and last

[Christina R.]

The fire has made it down to the canyon floor, but that doesn't necessarily change anything for us. Even though nights are usually helpful for fires here (temperatures cool down, winds die down) for some reason the powers that be think tonight will be significant in letting them know what to expect the fire to do in the canyon.

We are probably the northern most neighborhood on the evacuation warning list, so we really aren't worried. I guess I'll get more concerned if I hear it is headed up the canyon.

The ranch that was going to let me care for stray doggies only called once with the freemartin heifer. They were able to graft her onto a cow whose calf they had to put down. God must have known we didn't need extra livestock with the fire danger so high this summer.

I only have three pygmy goats and the chickens, so they will easily fit into the back of the truck and be safely brought to the east side of town to any number of good friend's houses.

The pictures are packed, important papers are in one specific, easy to grab place, so we are ready if need be.

We can't dig a barrier around our yard. We don't really have a farm. We have our house and "backyard" on 1/2 our property and the barn and "barnyard" on the other half. We have a total of about a 1/4 of an acre. Our yard is pretty clean of flammables (no dense trees, hay piles, etc.) , but the woods are at the end of the road (about 150' away). They've done controlled burns over the years in the woods, but fire is fire so potential damage is always there.

We live where there is an average of 10' of snow a year, but this year we only had one snow storm. Needless to say that made even Northern Arizona a potential tinderbox. Thanks for all the prayers. Up to a few years ago, I would have thought 18 miles away from a fire was pretty safe distance, but then Arizona experienced the Rodeo/Chediski fire and it burned for miles in an area similar to Northern Arizona. I'll post again soon.

[Sprout]

Oh good I got worried there for a second. I have family in San Diego and my mother and Father used to live there so fire prevention has been ground into my head. Do you have a cedar or wood shingled roofing? If you do than you might want to consider getting tht replaced with a non flamable alternative. I've seen fires that have blazed through developments and have destroyed houses with wooden roofs and left tile and synthetic ones untouched.

[Christina R.]

We have composite shingle. My husband was telling me yesterday that he saw a test done with a few inches of pine needles on a composite shingle roof and the same on a wood shingle roof. He said the composite roof had the fire go through the needles, but didn't burn one bit of the shingles. Not the same for the wood shingles. I would hope at this point in history in the southwest, most people would (A) have their roofs cleared of debris and (B) have a defensible space around their yards.

Firewise, it went away from the canyon and headed north once it hit the top of the mountain again. It's heading further into the wilderness now. Of course all the wilderness area is beautiful, but at least it is away from homes and the canyon that they said the "chimney effect" would take place sending it toward Flagstaff.