WILDFIRE EVACUATION! Published on The Sierra Vista Herald ( (CLICK on photo below, to see even more photos from this story)

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1 Page 1 of 12 Published on The Sierra Vista Herald ( Home > WILDFIRE EVACUATION! WILDFIRE EVACUATION! (CLICK on photo below, to see even more photos from this story)

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9 Page 9 of 12 Eric Gilbert videotapes the flames from his home near the Coronado National Memorial. (By Jacob Petersen Herald/Review) Residents flee houses near Coronado Memorial By Bill Hess Herald/Review PALOMINAS Kym Hall was delivered a double whammy. First there was the fire which has burned nearly a third of the 12,000 acres of the Chiricahua National Monument, and now, slightly less than half the 4,750 acres of the Coronado National Memorial have been blackened. Hall is the National Park s superintendent for both sites.

10 Page 10 of 12 Sunday, she said she was on her way to the Chiricahua site when she got a call from her staff at the Coronado Memorial saying there was a wildfire on the property. Her first concern was for the staff, ensuring those working at the Visitors Center and the law enforcement agents got out of the area. And that meant she had to go to the memorial. As far as Hall can ascertain, the blaze being called the Monument Fire started just north of the border with Mexico, west of where the Border Patrol-constructed road ends at Smugglers Ridge. It was human caused, Hall said, noting the memorial has been closed to picnickers and to individuals who want to hike the trails because of significant fire danger. The cause of the Monument Fire will be investigated, but Hall said until then, there is no definitive answer as to what person, or persons, sparked the blaze. Although some fencing was burned, none of the rest of the infrastructure has been harmed, Hall said. The fire was moving strangely, first going north, then making a turn and coming down the south slope of a southernmost part of the Huachuca Mountains, and then heading north again to the Ash Canyon area, she said. As for the fire, it still threatens structures at the memorial, Hall said. The same is true for the structures at the Chiricahua site, some of which are historical, she said. The area is part of the Horseshoe 2 Fire, which as of late Sunday has burned more than 148,000 acres and is 48 percent contained. There are nearly 1,300 people assigned to fight the blaze. One other wildfire, mostly in Arizona, is the Wallow Fire, which has blackened more than 443,000 acres and is being fought by more than 4,300 people. Hall said when it comes to the two fires on land she is responsible for, she hopes they will be extinguished soon. Saying her last day as superintendent for the memorial and monument is June 30, Hall said she is going to Montana to be the superintendent of the million-acre Glacier National Park, which in the past has had major wildfires. **** For the second time since 2003, the Gilbert family has been told to evacuate their property on the east side of the Huachuca Mountains because of a wildfire.

11 Page 11 of 12 Unlike the blaze in June 2003, almost on the same date as the current Monument Fire started, the Gilberts were just beginning to build their home south of Ash Canyon and on the eastern side of the Huachucas. This time, David, Alice and their son Eric, were working on the inside of the home, but had to stop when the order for a mandatory evacuation came. Looking down at the building, David said there was a lot of bare ground around the house, which he hoped would protect the structure. Overhead air tankers, including a single engine air tanker commonly called a SEAT, and a former Navy P2V Neptune, which is called a heavy, dropped red fire retardant away from the flames to create a barrier for the fire. One drop from the Neptune came close to the house, causing Alice and Eric to run from the retardant. As the aircraft disappeared into the billowing, ever-changing colored smoke dirty gray to black rising thermals from the heated ground caused the airplane to wobble, as its wings went up and down. The smoke covered sun appeared bright orange with a lighter yellow corona. Loading two vehicles with special items, including animals, the Gilberts drove away from their property as the unfinished house disappeared from their sight in rear view mirrors. **** The east parking lot of the Valley View Elementary school looked like a mini zoo. But for Jim Thompson, the lot was a safe haven for eight of his alpacas, two goats and two dogs. He had gone down to his home off of Coronado Memorial Road and removed most of the animals. His daughter was walking out, leading another four alpacas because he didn t have enough room for all of them in a horse trailer. The curious adult alpacas looked around from inside the trailer, as the smaller of the species tried to stretch their necks unsuccessfully to get a peek. Thompson, one of many living near the Coronado National Memorial, had been told to evacuate. Only people who lived in the area could go to rescue their animals, until even that was ended because of the increased fire danger.

12 Page 12 of 12 One woman tried to talk her way past a Cochise County Sheriff Office roadblock, to no avail. Despondent, she put her head on the steering wheel and cried, her body shaking with distress. Numerous people arrived with horse trailers, making it through roadblocks set up at Highway 92 and Hereford Road, and at East Ash Canyon Road and the highway. Eventually westbound traffic was stopped at the southern end of Hereford Road and the highway, and diverted north on Hereford. To the east of Coronado Memorial Road and the highway, a small patch of ground caught on fire, but no one knows what caused it. It was quickly extinguished. There were a number of fire departments, as well as federal agencies working the blaze, which included firefighters from Palominas, Fry, Sierra Vista, Bisbee, Naco, Huachuca City and Mescal, as well as the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Assisting with controlling traffic was the U.S. Border Patrol. Additionally, the U.S. Forest Service Air Tanker Base at Fort Huachuca s Libby Army Airfield launched numerous flights to drop retardant to create a buffer to help stop the flames. Also, water-carrying helicopters were employed. EDITOR S NOTE: This story was corrected at 7:18 a.m. to reflect the correct acreage burned in the Horseshoe Fire. If you find a correction for this story, please contact our editorial department [1] News Arizona Bill Hess Cochise County, Arizona Fire retardant Firefighting Fort Huachuca Huachuca Mountains Natural Disaster Wildfire Wildland fire suppression Home About Us Contact Us Get home delivery Media Kit Terms of Service 2010 The Sierra Vista Herald 102 Fab Ave Sierra Vista, AZ Source URL: Links: [1]

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