Fire update, 14 July 2005

Today after we were outfitted in Nomex, Dennis and I went up to the
Ridge and Summit. It was very smoky. There were more retardant lines
today than yesterday (see some of the pictures I took today). The fire
progressed downward compared to yesterday, burning down the West faces of
Wrightson, Josephine, and other peaks to the north. The latter are
very low and very close to the road into Madera Canyon. The fire is at
or very near Josephine saddle, as you can see in the pictures.

I did some work on instruments on the Ridge, and Dennis did the same
at the MMT. I then joined Dennis at the MMT for some picture taking.
We plan to keep going up once a day, fire permitting.

We spoke with some of the fire managers that were scoping out the
scene from the summit (and gave them a quick tour of the MMT). They
are members of the No. 1 team that replaces the preceding team (No. 2)
starting today at 6pm.  The No. 1 team represents an increase in
resources and personnel.  The fire is being taken very seriously, and
as many resources seem to be applied as possible. The manager I spoke
with, Jason Coyl from the Sedona Fire District, told me that the order
of their priorities is people, valuable buildings and their contents, any
endangered species, and last, cost. So that seems a well-ordered list
of priorities, unless you are an endangered species. The managers 
are all very willing to speak with us as their activities permit.

Jason told me that their plan, which will be adjusted continuously,
is to put crews down in the canyon as long as they're safe. Their
goal is to create fire breaks as far as possible. These may hold,
depending on the weather, which has been variable except for 
producing no rain. The RH has been between 20 and 30%, which is 
not too bad. However, if the fire breaches these breaks and comes
up to Hopkins, Jason said that he thought they would be able to
save our buildings. Part of their strategy may be to create back burns.
The crews have cleared some brush around buildings and roads at 
the Ridge and summit, but their comments were that we were doing
well, having minimized fuel near buildings in recent years. Their
strategy is to use as many tricks as possible, clearing brush, 
building breaks, and cordoning areas with retardant. Ultimately, 
the real solution will be rain, which may come only next week.

I expect we will remain closed through this coming week, and 
perhaps even more, which may take us into our summer shutdown.
Some combination of us will continue attending briefings, visiting
the mountain, and talking with the fire management teams.

We will keep you informed as best we can.

Best regards,
Emilio