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As if it’s not hot enough around here, Mother Nature apparently decided to add some fire to that heat.

Our state is burning up right now. Luckily, and a first around here, these fires were not started by man. They are natural fires ignited by lightening strikes around the state.

Right now, the Cave Creek Complex fire is the states second largest fire in history. After a 12 day battle with this 250,500 acre burning blaze, it seems they’ve finally gotten the upper hand. But, not without a few casualties. Not human life, yet, but wildlife.

One of the saddest losses in nature is the loss of The Grand One.

ARIZONA WILDFIRE SCORCHES ‘GRAND ONE’
46 FEET TALL, WORLD’S LARGEST SAGUARO NOT EXPECTED TO SURVIVE
Peter Corbett, The Arizona Republic

A week-old wildfire north of Cave Creek scorched the world’s largest saguaro and the 46-foot cactus near Horseshoe Lake is unlikely to survive, forest officials said.
The “Grand One,” which has endured nearly two centuries of blistering summers, is recognized in the National Register of Big Trees for its statuesque height, mass of limbs and a base circumference of 7 feet, 10 inches.

The Grand One and another towering saguaro nearby were burned when fire raced across a ridge south of the lake, said Emily Garber, a Tonto National Forest fire information officer.

“Chances are they are going to go,” she said of the big saguaros, icons of Arizona’s Sonoran Desert. “They were damaged.”

No one has taken a close look this week at how badly the giant saguaro was burned by the lightning-sparked wildfire.

Ken Morrow, Arizona coordinator of the big tree register, is holding out hope that the cactus was not permanently damaged.

“Sometimes they survive if they just get blackened on one side,” Morrow said. “If it gets too hot it will cook them.”

Saguaros, whose scientific name is Carnegiea gigantea, grow almost exclusively in Arizona.

CAPTION: The “Grand One” (shown in a 2003 photo) is not expected to survive after being damaged by a fire. The 46-foot-tall saguaro near Horseshoe Lake is nearly two centuries old.

This isn’t the only fire that’s burned our deserts as of late, either. There have been many fires that have broken out, and been put out, over the past few weeks. Mummy Mountain burned up last Tuesday. Buckeye had a fire of their own. Some residents in and around these areas of fire had been evacuated, some are still not being allowed to return to their homes. Residents as far away as 25 miles wait anxiously to hear if the fires are going to become threatening to their homes.

There has been a good amount of homes lost so far. With the reports of having the upper hand on the Cave Creek Complex fire, residents are breathing a sigh of relief, albeit a difficult one. All of these burning fires have created air quality concerns and residents are being advised to remain indoors if they’ve any respiratory problems at all. Mostly the very young and the very old. It’s odd to look out onto the horizon and see nothing but layers of smoke clouds blanketing the state for miles and miles. It’s eerie when the sun is setting and the strange colors caused by the wildfires smoke light up the sky.

With tonight and tomorrow’s Fourth of July celebrations, it scares me to think of the fires that may be started due to fireworks shows around the Valley. Usually when conditions are this dry and dangerous, some of the smaller shows end up being cancelled. I’ve not heard of any cancellations due to the conditions, yet. There are always those whom purchase fireworks in Mexico and bring them across the border to illegally shoot them off in their backyards or at their lake parties, my ex-husband being one of those kind. It’s also those kind of people who end up starting more brush fires and causing more damage.

We had an extremely wet winter this year, causing a greater amount of brush than in past years. Now, we are experiencing a frighteningly dry, hot summer, leaving us vulnerable to horrid fires all over the state. I have a feeling it’s just begun. There is not a drop of humidity in our air. Usually it is during this time of year the humidity begins to rise, giving way to Monsoon season.
I fear there will be little or no rain to relieve the dry desert brushlands around us.

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