Fire? What fire?

[welikecamping2]

So recently I had to get away to escape the intense summer heat in Phoenix. We have been really leaning into Paddleboarding lately, so I planned to hit a rim lake that I always have wanted to paddle. This was to be Blue Ridge Reservoir, aka CC Cragin Reservoir. Started doing my usual meal planning, packing for activities, and mapping routes. There was a small forest fire south of here under the rim that I needed to keep an eye on. The day before our departure, they closed the forest almost up to the southern edge of the lake. We decided we didn't want to have to deal with this, so pivoted to another location on the rim, near some lakes.

All was well and we had a nice drive on a Wednesday morning in light traffic. I gotta say one of the best things about retirement is the ability to come and go as I please. I rarely camp on a weekend or a holiday anymore, preferring the quiet of the in-between times. I was really amazed driving up the forest road north of Forest Lakes to find one of my favorite spots open. I immediately pulled in and we started setting up camp. After a nice lunch we broke out the zero-grav chairs and just relaxed.


The weather up here was still a bit warm, but we were expecting afternoon rains which usually cool the forest. Late in the afternoon both of our mobile phones went off like mad with an urgent alert. Apparently, there was a new fire (Sheep Springs) that was being fought just a few miles south of us. The town of Forest Lakes was between us and the fire, and the report was that this fire was a mile south of Forest Lakes. Much of the town and the area we were camping was in a "Set" status as of this alert. I am very familiar with this entire area, know all the roads, etc. We researched the fire situation and made a plan for potential escape routes.

 

[welikecamping2]

One of the pluses of this location is that you are relatively remote, yet still have a decent cell signal. This is important for us at this time as the MIL is 94 and has some health issues. I know. 5 miles from town is hardly remote, but this was intended as a way to simply get out of the heat. After the Emergency Broadcast about the fire we started checking the usual websites for updated information. At this point the fire was 35 acres and moving slowly north. Late in the afternoon, the monsoons came in and we had a pretty good wetting. Figured this would impact the fire, but we remained on set status.

you can see the drainage "canals" I had to cut to drain the water away from the trailer and the firepit and on down the slope. We were camping on the Apache Sitgreaves, which is usually the first to lift fire restrictions. I always clean out the firepit, reset any loose stones and make sure it is properly oriented to the trailer and the wind. This particular firepit showed evidence of when I first made it years ago. I like a deep pit with high walls formed into a C shape around a large flat stone. This allows you to safely manage the fire and you have a nice flat table in the front where you can sit a coffee pot or skillet, It's always easy to drop a grill into as well.

Our first day winds down. For dinner we had "taco" salad, which is your basic garden salad topped with seasoned ground beef, chiles, cheese and the usual condiments for a taco. Washed it down with a tasty bottle of Montepulciano.