Windy Conditions Spark an Afternoon Fire

 Sunny with cold wind conditions.  

I went out in the afternoon to exercise Scarlett, my 2014 Ural Patrol Sidecar rig before I was to load her back onto the trailer.  We're all planning on departing tomorrow morning for a couple of days in Tucson.  I'm getting new tires on the VRRV and Lori and Chris have chores and a "Home Depot Day" planned.

I headed towards Slavin Gulch for a shot of the rock formations there:

As I neared our campsite upon my return I spotted a large cloud of smoke about a mile away nearer the mountains.

photo courtesy of Lori Z.

photo courtesy of Lori Z.

I alerted Lori to the fire and then went back out on Scarlett to see how close I could get to it to make sure no one needed help.  Lori Z. would call 911 to let them know about the fire.

Chris Z. would catch up to me as I neared the fire's location, there were about three campers nearby.  Those campers were soon hurriedly throwing all their camping equipment and stuff into a trailer as they saw the flames approaching.

Chris and I got a little bit closer:

video courtesy of Chris Z.

We left when the fire got a bit too close and then we helped the campers finish packing up their stuff prior to moving their vehicle further away from the fire.

The smoke was thick enough to "shade" the mountains

As we waited near the fire, Chris got hold of the USFS dispatcher for the area and made sure to relay GPS coordinates for the fire.

After a while, Chris and I returned to camp and watched the fire seemingly dying out as we resumed our packing of stuff for tomorrow's displacement.  None of us was worried that the fire would spread our way.

Around 4PM, I headed out back towards the fire and witnessed the arrival of a USFS fire truck accompanied by three trucks from the AZ-FTA.  They turned out to be from the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs from Fort Apache according to Google).  Long way to come for a fire but I figure they saw it as a training opportunity.

I didn't follow them in and unintentionally get in the way or act as a looky-lou.

As the sun set, very little smoke could still be seen coming from the fire area.  I think we'll be fine.

Tomorrow: Tucson, AZ