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The Land We Love
Rodeo-Chediski fire: Saving Arizona's Ponderosas
Ten years after the Rodeo-Chediski fire destroyed nearly 500 thousand acres of Arizona forest, the state's forests have edged closer to collapse.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
It can make the difference from a town being saved, or lost. What it means to thin a forest, in a step-by-step approach.
Mark Henle/The Republic
Wildfire and drought have severely damaged Arizona's forests over the past 10 years, and repairing the damage will require decades, if not centuries, of methodical work.
About 2.4 million acres of mostly ponderosa pine forests will be treated under the Four Forest Restoration Initiative.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
David Kadlubowski/The Republic
Ten years after the Rodeo-Chediski Fire raged through Heber, Overgaard, Linden and other White Mountain towns, land managers and community leaders are thinning forests to protect homes and businesses. Last year's Wallow Fire showed that removing thousands of trees from overgrown stands had helped slow the fire's movement, giving firefighters a chance to save hundreds of homes. It also showed how those efforts can be improved.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Ten years after Valinda Jo Elliott (top) ignited half of the worst wildfire Arizona had ever seen, legal wrangling continues on her culpability. Meanwhile, a part-time Apache firefighter named Leonard Gregg, who started the Rodeo Fire, was recently released from prison to a halfway house.
Jack Kurtz/The Republic
Some who faced down Rodeo-Chediski remain outraged at the fire starters, or upset with the initial response. Some dwell on the charity of neighbors, or the heroism of hotshots. But all retain a sense of awe at the terrifying magnitude of the fire and the dramatic battle to stop it.
Want to know the number of fire engines used to fight the blaze, the amount of acreage burned or number of structures lost? Learn that and more.
Rodeo-Chediski resulted from the convergence of conditions and circumstances – weather, geography, forest policies and human acts or errors.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Major forest fires in Arizona from the past decade.
So what exactly has Rodeo-Chediski taught us?
- Slideshow: A look back at last year's devastating Wallow Fire.
- Maps: Damage caused by 50 years of Arizona fires.
- Video: Rick Holliday and his family have been harvesting timber in Arizona since 1950. Now his company is cutting charred timber in the Wallow Fire burn area.