I don’t think people truly understand the amount of incompetence that is surrounding the desert fires this year. Of course this is human caused, the only way a fire starts naturally is by lightning. But if forestry is done right and if the land was managed correctly, this would not be happening. The desert landscape has never been built to carry fire. That has changed in the last 30 years as invasive annual grasses have moved in, and the forest service has done NOTHING IN THE LAST 30 YEARS to mitigate this issue. Every single year they just hope and pray it doesn’t burn, instead of using resources to tackle huge fuel loads. They literally sit on their ass for most of the year doing absolutely nothing and it’s infuriating. The desert saguaro scrub is not fire adapted, however the top of the mountain and certain dry and shaded canyons are. Historically fires would happen on the tops of the mountains and not be able to move down into the saguaro desert because there wasn’t any invasive grass to carry it. They even got a 8 million dollar grant to deal with invasive plants this past year and I haven’t seen a single penny used in the tonto. It’s pathetic
@@christopherhendricks4369 that’s a small part of the problem that has the potential to be a major problem. The main culprit is red brome grass. It only has seed viability for about a year. That means theoretically that if they were mostly purged before they set seed, they wouldn’t be absolutely everywhere. But again, the forest service won’t do that, they decided that most of their money should used to actually fight the fire rather than using most of their money to prevent them
@@christopherhendricks4369 not that I can find, researchers and scientists knew that this was going to happen. They have all the knowledge and information they need. They know this isn’t sustainable. They either have completely failed and accept it, or they are waiting for some major climatic event like an extreme winter rainfall drought for an extended period to save them
Fires can start naturally by spontaneous combustion, although very rare. And the high points of this area is desertscrub with plenty of Saguaros and other native cacti. But you're right, invasive grasses have blanketed the floor. Last spring there were crews out and about clearing hounds of stinknet across residential neighborhoods. But an area like the Superstition Wilderness wouldn't be prioritized because of its remote location fairly separated from structures. If you've noticed how this fire's been burning, it's a rather delicate flame compared to other fires with taller tinder sources, but the winds and lack of rain has fueled its growth fast and far. It's good that it's happening so the land can regenerate more naturally in the future, but it's cyclical and invasive grasses will eventually return. So to your point of prescribed burns. It might be a good idea, but takes coordination between agencies. And as I see it like you, they're doing other stuff like keeping rec sites a little cleaner these days. Idk, it's a tricky one to tackle without displacing recreational activity since the cooler months would be the time to safely execute the plan. Also, I think a lot of federal funding is being used to tackle overgrowth in the ponderosa forests as it should be. Just my opinion. I have no formal education in any of this. Just a very close appreciation for the Sonoran Desert and this area in particular.
That deep and high up in the mountain... the fire is more likely a lightning strike than human caused. The fire will help, not hurt the desert. I know that is hard to believe. The fire will create new growth.
I don’t think people truly understand the amount of incompetence that is surrounding the desert fires this year. Of course this is human caused, the only way a fire starts naturally is by lightning. But if forestry is done right and if the land was managed correctly, this would not be happening. The desert landscape has never been built to carry fire. That has changed in the last 30 years as invasive annual grasses have moved in, and the forest service has done NOTHING IN THE LAST 30 YEARS to mitigate this issue. Every single year they just hope and pray it doesn’t burn, instead of using resources to tackle huge fuel loads. They literally sit on their ass for most of the year doing absolutely nothing and it’s infuriating. The desert saguaro scrub is not fire adapted, however the top of the mountain and certain dry and shaded canyons are. Historically fires would happen on the tops of the mountains and not be able to move down into the saguaro desert because there wasn’t any invasive grass to carry it. They even got a 8 million dollar grant to deal with invasive plants this past year and I haven’t seen a single penny used in the tonto. It’s pathetic
Stink net weeds are a huge problem now.
@@christopherhendricks4369 that’s a small part of the problem that has the potential to be a major problem. The main culprit is red brome grass. It only has seed viability for about a year. That means theoretically that if they were mostly purged before they set seed, they wouldn’t be absolutely everywhere. But again, the forest service won’t do that, they decided that most of their money should used to actually fight the fire rather than using most of their money to prevent them
@@Emu1776 so they have absolutely no plan to address these issues I assume? Seems to be late in the year to have this many larger fires going on.
@@christopherhendricks4369 not that I can find, researchers and scientists knew that this was going to happen. They have all the knowledge and information they need. They know this isn’t sustainable. They either have completely failed and accept it, or they are waiting for some major climatic event like an extreme winter rainfall drought for an extended period to save them
Fires can start naturally by spontaneous combustion, although very rare. And the high points of this area is desertscrub with plenty of Saguaros and other native cacti. But you're right, invasive grasses have blanketed the floor. Last spring there were crews out and about clearing hounds of stinknet across residential neighborhoods. But an area like the Superstition Wilderness wouldn't be prioritized because of its remote location fairly separated from structures. If you've noticed how this fire's been burning, it's a rather delicate flame compared to other fires with taller tinder sources, but the winds and lack of rain has fueled its growth fast and far. It's good that it's happening so the land can regenerate more naturally in the future, but it's cyclical and invasive grasses will eventually return. So to your point of prescribed burns. It might be a good idea, but takes coordination between agencies. And as I see it like you, they're doing other stuff like keeping rec sites a little cleaner these days. Idk, it's a tricky one to tackle without displacing recreational activity since the cooler months would be the time to safely execute the plan. Also, I think a lot of federal funding is being used to tackle overgrowth in the ponderosa forests as it should be. Just my opinion. I have no formal education in any of this. Just a very close appreciation for the Sonoran Desert and this area in particular.
Those flames were 15 to 25 feet high. I pulled out the telescope and watched it from Mesa last night.
I feel sorry for the desert reptiles and animals...
@@calikid3336 Desert wildlife are extremely resilient. We've waged a war against tumbleweeds for almost 100 years. And lost.
That deep and high up in the mountain... the fire is more likely a lightning strike than human caused. The fire will help, not hurt the desert. I know that is hard to believe. The fire will create new growth.
Seen this last night when riding through Apache 😮😮😮😮
Dudes Moosestach. Lol.
Canyon lake is right there get a fleet of helicopters