Residents are fleeing several small Arizona mountain towns, as cars, trucks and trailers loaded with belongings streamed out of Eagar, flames dotted a ridge on the southeastern side of Springerville, and columns of orange smoke rose from the hills.
Ash rained from a sky filled with thick smoke that has affected air quality as far north as Wyoming and as far east as Georgia.
This is the second largest wildfire in Arizona's history, and authorities are already looking into the cause. Several forest service campgrounds are dotted throughout the area, and some reports said the fire started from an "unattended campfire". If this turns out to be true, what a devastating result from a camper's negligence.
As we enter the summer camping season, it cannot be stressed enough the importance of campers and RVers taking extra care to guarantee without a doubt that their fires are absolutely cold, dead, out. Carry a water bucket and shovel in your rig to use if an errant spark gets loose from your fire, and when you leave, pour water on the fire.
But that's not enough. Spread out the coals and feel with your hand that they--all of them--are cold to the touch. Then bury the fire with dirt. Don't leave even the slightest possibility of a sudden wind raising the smallest of hot spots into a fiery conflagration. And don't even consider building a campfire if weather predictions call for high winds. The cost of a simple, unintended mistake, can be too high to contemplate.
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