Fire damages Mittry Lake and Betty's Kitchen Watchable Wildlife Area

Many of us have boondocked at Mittry Lake east of Yuma at the Betty's Kitchen Watchable Wildlife Area, enjoying waterfront campsites surrounded by rushes and willows. If you had a paddle boat, canoe or kayak, you could paddle out from your campsite into a great birdwatching area among the tulles and low wetlands of the lower Colorado River.

That has now changed as the Laguna Fire has burned between 400 to 800 acres of vegetation along the Colorado River in the Betty's Kitchen area. The BLM reports that the fire was man caused, however the exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The fire, which began at about 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 25th, is burning salt cedar, willow, cottonwood and mesquite in the Colorado River riparian area. The fire started in California and hopped the river into Arizona. Approximately 95 percent of the fire is in Arizona.

The fire has destroyed a historic abandoned cabin known as “Pappin House” and portions of Betty’s Kitchen Watchable Wildlife Area and Interpretive Trail near Laguna Dam.

A large sign at Betty’s Kitchen, a ramada, a wooden footbridge, some vegetation and a BLM water truck were burned during the wildfire.

A second ramada and bathrooms at the location were spared. Much of the foliage will grow back, but it remains to be seen how much the fire will affect this not-well-known boondocking camping area.