Laboratory
of
Tree-Ring Research

Southwest Fire:

Current Fire

Since the 1900s, the western states, including Arizona and New Mexico, have recorded increasing total forest area burned by wildfire.
 

• 2007: The Age of Mega-Fires: This 60 Minutes production aired on October 21, and it shows big hot fires in the West.
• Some recent fires have been quite intense, killing many trees and causing various ecological and economic problems. Read on about some notable fires in the Southwest since the 1990s.
   
  1. 2003: The 2003 Catalina Mt. Aspen Fire: This US Forest Service web site documents the cost of the 2003 Aspen fire.
      
  2. 2002: Summary of the Rodeo-Chediski Fire, Arizona: This Wilderness Society summary webpage documents the size and cost of the 2002 Redeo-Chediski fire.
      
  3. 1996: Big fire year in the West: This 1997 Arizona Daily Star article describes that 1996 was a year of big, intense fires in forests throughout the West; these forests hadn't typically experienced such fires. (625-word html file)
      
  4. Mt. Graham 1996: This 1996 Arizona Daily Star article describes the 1996 Mt. Graham fire, which was large and burned hot. (493-word html file)
      
  5. A year after the Mt. Graham fire: This 1997 Arizona Daily Star article describes the Mt. Graham scene one year after the big fire; it was still pretty black, though with some revegetation. (2,148-word html file)
      
  6. Chiricahua fire leaves legacy of forest scars: This 1994 Arizona Daily Star article describes the initial ecological impact of the large and intense fire that year in the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona. (2,057-word html file)
      
  7. Disastrous fire leaves legacy of risky residue; erosion and fuel buildup follow Rattlesnake blaze: This 1995 Arizona Daily Star article documents the environmental response to the large and intense 1994 Rattlesnake fire in the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona. (2,148-word html file)
      

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Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona 85721 USA
Main Office: (520) 621-1608, Fax: (520) 621-8229
Comments to Paul Sheppard: sheppard @ ltrr.arizona.edu

Copyright © 1999-2007, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona
Revised — November, 2007
URL: http://tree.ltrr.arizona.edu/~sheppard/swland/currentfire.html