Jack's Canyon burning again

Just a heads up...

inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3…

I was in Winslow when it began. Initial reports had the fire starting at the campground by a climber. The investigation will tell.

I wish all people would be a bit smarter and not start any fires in AZ in June. Especially camp fires. You can't be that cold and you shouldn't be that stupid.

manuel rangel wrote:...I wish all people would be a bit smarter and not start any fires in AZ in June. Especially camp fires. You can't be that cold and you shouldn't be that stupid.

+1000

This is NOT OK! Ignorance is not ok nor is it an excuse. The person should be held accountable and made example of. We should be more respectful to AZ in the summer. Shame on the person.......

if their map is correct, everything south of the camping area should be untouched.

Its been windy the past couple of days and winds were really high and consistent on Saturday out there. Its also been extremely dry. Its hard to imagine the thinking behind an unnecessary campfire (or dropped cig). And why do people seem to think its ok to chop down the trees out there that make it a nice place to camp for fires?

My husband and I were here at Jack's Canyon last week Tuesday thru Friday. It was SO OBVIOUS that fires were not allowed (via warning signs) and the wind was so relentless day and night, I can't imagine who in their right mind could even THINK of having a fire.

On our last night (Thurday) here was a group of climbers, or 2 climbers, 2 dogs and a friend? who came in. We were set up just North to NW of the Bathroom, and they decided to camp right north to NE of us in the spot where it would appear the fire started.

They arrived late afternoon, and with no one else in the entire place, they set up camp right next to us :/ we were trying to get to sleep just after dusk and while they were not loud, they were cooking dinner and we were in our tent 15 0 feet from them....I could hear their casual conversation.

They were very polite, and they did NOT have a fire Thursday night as they cooked, but the young man of the party seemed disappointed that someone had destroyed the fire pit at that spot, and he talked about STEAK and Wine alot. I wasn't trying to listen but it was barely 8:30pm and the moon was FULL so the tent was pretty bright as I drifted to sleep.....

We wished them fun as they left Friday morning to hike down into the canyon and we broke camp. Home Saturday, exhausted from 2 days of great climbing, sitting down to coffee and the newspaper (or Facebook as the case may be) only to find that Jack's was on fire. We were shocked when we saw the maps and how close it appears to be to the campsite where we were.

We signed into the log book so I suppose it anyone wanted to know what we know, they'll find us.....

We feel very lucky to have gotten our few days in before it was closed and hope that the fire lines hold it to containment and NO ONE GETS HURT.

Was anyone else camping there on Friday night?
and Are they saying that it STARTED at the campground?
was it IN a Fire Pit? or started by something else?

and I heard a truck was burned? Was it at the campsite of origin? That would be justice served wouldn't it? It's be horrible to be down climbing and find out your truck was burned by someone else's stupid mistake ! Let alone your home, cabin, or someone you love.

I agree that whoever started the fire (assuming it was from a campfire) deserves whatever they have coming. It was hard to tell if the fire started because a truck caught fire or if the truck caught fire because of a campfire.

I am more worried about Jack's being closed to climbers...

I was at Jacks Canyon during the fire.
There were no campfires the night before or the day of.

The USFS law enforcement interviewed everyone that was camping there (which was a number of people), we had to wait about 6 hours before we could leave. FS fire workers are very well trained, they'll most likely figure it out through the photos they took of the area and all of the interviews.

No offense to this thread, but if you weren't there, please don't speculate about what may or may not have happened. It's really rude.

jdlars wrote:I was at Jacks Canyon during the fire. There were no campfires the night before or the day of. The USFS law enforcement interviewed everyone that was camping there (which was a number of people), we had to wait about 6 hours before we could leave. FS fire workers are very well trained, they'll most likely figure it out through the photos they took of the area and all of the interviews. No offense to this thread, but if you weren't there, please don't speculate about what may or may not have happened. It's really rude.

Ok. Call me rude, but if it wasn't lightning it was a human. There's not much to speculate about.

guy bon wrote: Ok. Call me rude, but if it wasn't lightning it was a human. There's not much to speculate about.

Got that right.

It's worth everyone knowing that within the last few weeks some (in-state) climbers set up camp just down the hill from the parking lot at Paradise Forks and nearly did the same exact thing, leaving their fire hot and smoldering and heading off to climb.

Luckily in this case, some other climbers with way more sense came along and put the thing out, taking time out of their climbing day to even head up and bring down a big jug of water to make sure it was completely out.

Seriously, WTF?!?!?!? It's dry as a bone out there, warm at night and using a fire right now as your wilderness TV set is just ridiculous with the threat of fires that will only be put out after thousands of acres and trees are burned to the dirt, never to return in our lifetime.

jdlars wrote:...but if you weren't there, please don't speculate about what may or may not have happened. It's really rude.

Um, no. What is rude is you trying to control the conversation. At least one of the "rude" posters that are speculating about what happened at Jacks has more than 20 years experience as a firefighter. I for one would like to hear their opinion, and not your commentary on what is and is not rude.

BTW, if it wasn't lightning, then it was caused by some idiot doing something stupid. Campfire? Cigarette butt? Parking hot car in dry grass? Regardless of the specifics, this fire was cased by SOMEONE at Jacks.

What are the ways in which climbers start fires? Campfires and smoking are obvious candidates but is parking a hot car in dry grass really a risk? What other behaviors should be avoided?

Hendrixson wrote:What are the ways in which climbers start fires? Campfires and smoking are obvious candidates but is parking a hot car in dry grass really a risk? What other behaviors should be avoided?

IIRC, there was a fire at Arcosanti a few years back that was started by a hot car that was parked in dry grass. Although not a frequent occurrence, it can and does happen.

Lightning is the most common fire starter and people add to it with campfires, discarded smoking materials, hot automobiles on light grass, shooting weapons in the woods, hot tools like a chainsaw, you name it.

One of the largest fires in this state was started because of a lost hiker's signal fire and spread rapidly when the helo dove in and actually fanned the flames! People have caused fires because of careless behavior and it does not change.

Hendrixson wrote:What are the ways in which climbers start fires? Campfires and smoking are obvious candidates but is parking a hot car in dry grass really a risk? What other behaviors should be avoided?

The catalytic converter gets super hot, and sits very low on the vehicle (in front of the muffler).

I just love how someone at Jacks the night before the fire knows if there were any campfires in the whole complex! What a joke! There are so many juniper trees ( well there use to be )... that unless you are the token ranger for the night, and conduct hourly patrols, no one with any intellect could know or make such a statement! Its most likely the one who started the fire! There are so many man caused fires every year in our state; always no excuse for it ( well except all the morons out in the woods ). Every climbing area in a national forest or blm land obviously needs a ranger, a firering, a selfpay station, and check in and check out times! Like a parent watchin his spoiled kids. Too many idiots out there to say lets all be responsible! It isnt working. Here here Manny; I would go a step further and say; no fires from May - October!

Anybody got any new info on jacks? Is the fire out? Is it open for climbing? We aren't camping there but might like to climb there tomorrow.

Thanks for any info.

Fire is out and I couldn't find anything specifically saying that the area is closed. I'll be driving up there on wednesday...

As of today it's still closed. There is a sign at the gate which says Fire hazard area.

Have they identified the cause of the fire yet?