Controlled Burn in Ccoconino Forest, AZ

If you ever wondered what it might be like to get caught in a forest fire, here's a little taste - the reality would be much worse, I have no doubt!

We waited 3 years to be able to camp in this special spot in the forest. After two days, we had to leave because of scheduled controlled burns. I would never have imagined it would be this way. We went from clear to the pictures you see here in about 15 minutes!

Arizona has been in a drought cycle for more than ten years, and we still are. However, there have been enough rains this year that the forest service felt safe in doing controlled burns this year. They are doing so many, the smoke rolls off the Mogollon (Muggy-Own) Rim, down into Verde Valley. Coming down the road, you can see the valley covered in smoke - though it looks like a smog cloud, and in it, one doesn't have the effect you see in the forest pictures. The smoke has even made it all the way into the Valley of the Sun - Phoenix! That's about a 3 hour drive.

Near Clint's Well, AZ
Controlled burns (aka, Rx burn) of brush, stumps and grasses


No, that's not a cloud - it's the smoke from the fires.


Example of forest without the smoke