Underpass Closure Divides Council

Arizonans will not soon forget the summer of 2002 when Mother Nature reared her ugly face with the Rodeo-Chediski wildfire that burned up more than 460,182 acres of ponderosa pine.

With the lack of moisture this year, fire experts are predicting another devastating fire season.

ÒThe Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest Service is gearing up for a possible rough forest fire season due to dry fuels that plaque the forests,Ó said Bob Dyson with the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest Service.

According to Northern Arizona University Professor Mike Wagner, the forests are in critical danger. ÒThe forests of Arizona have been able to survive in relatively dry conditions because in the past centuries low intensity fires helped to maintain a low density of trees in the forest. Whereas in the past century we have controlled fire, which has allowed many forested areas to become overcrowded.

Lack of moisture also contributes to the major infestation of bark beetles that have killed many ponderosa pines, turning them into fire fuel.

Wagner has been testing the ponderosa pineÕs response to the drought Arizona has experienced over the last four years. ÒResin products on the oldest trees is moderate but on the majority of the trees it has stopped. Trees use resin to fight of attacking beetles by pitching them out,Ó said Wagner.

Further testing of the water levels in the trees shows that the trees are not transpiring at all, which indicates there is no free water in the trees.

The bark beetle, which is the size of a match head, burrows its way into the tree and forms an egg chamber. The spines of the beetle are used to push sawdust out of the tree as they tunnel. After the eggs hatch, the larvae burros out of the chamber and forms a series of its own tunnels.

Early indications that a tree might be infested include piles of red sawdust at the base of the tree and soft pink to reddishÐcolored pitch tubes about one-quarter inch in diameter in the top one-third or larger trees. The damage starts in the top, or crown, of the tree and works its way down, eventually killing the tree.

The bark beetle currently exists in 80 percent of the ponderosa pine in the forests of Arizona and New Mexico.

The forest service, according to Dyson, is trying to clean up fuels in the forest, but the effort will take many years to come.

ÒMost started fires that get out of control on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest are human caused. When a lightning fire starts, it is a way Mother Nature cleanses herself. When man starts a fire, itÕs a crime,Ó said Dyson.

According to Apache-Sitgreaves Forest officials, there have been 1,277 fires in the forest in the last five years; 890 were lightning cause and 387 were human caused.

Dyson hopes people visiting the forests this year will take extra precaution to avoid starting a fire. ÒPut out all campfires, dispose of cigarettes properly in an ashtray, watch children around campfires, matches and lighters.

ÒOur forests are struggling without the help of man. DonÕt add to the stress the forest has in trying to battle future forest fires. Remember, Only you can prevent a fire,Ó added Dyson.

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