CREW - John Roads (SRBE), Addam Roads (FFT2), Frankie Perez (FFT2)
The Oracle Hill fire started from lightning on July 12th, on USFS land just south of Oracle, Arizona. Oracle is one of Arizona's top Wildland/Urban Interface target hazards. The area is heavy in natural and unmanaged growth of grass, bear grass, manzanita and extremely dried oak. At the time of dispatch, the fire was a Type 3.
Caminos Engine 1 arrived at the Oracle Fire Station around 1520 and was quickly dispatched to the High Jinks Ranch for structural protection. High Jinks Ranch is a national historical sight, built by Wild Buffalo Bill Cody in 1913. The fire was just west of the ranch. Surround by Type 4 chaparral fuels, the ranch was in eminent danger.
The ranch consists of an old main home (3 story, stone and wood) surrounded by several smaller wooden rental residents, a small barn and corral, all located on the east aspect of a hill. Just above the old ranch exists a large plateau containing other metal buildings including a horse barn and corral.
Several resources were positioned on the plateau to prep and protect the metal buildings. Two Compressed Air Foam (CAF) engines (Nesbitt and Caminos) along with a State Land Type 6 (E-36) were positioned at the old residents. Over the course of several hours, the fire burned around the ranch hill, passing the ranch on both the north and south sides. Extreme fire behavior was observed, with flames lengths between 60-100 feet.
After experiencing a heavy fire threat on the north side (60 foot flames within 100 feet of the main house), it was decided that a burn out on the east side would be needed to prevent the north and south fires from combining east of the ranch and making an westward uphill run into the structures. The burnout, coordinated by Gene Beaudoin (ASLD) involved starting the burnout in the drainage behind the structures, at the same time as igniting the fire below and NE of the structures and having both fires connect SE of the homes. The two main wild fires north and south of the ranch pulled the burnout fire to the east away from the ranch, thus saving the entire complex of homes. Compressed Air Foam (CAF) was utilized to both paint the structures with a foam coat prior to the ignitions, and to aid in controlling the fire during ignition. During the ignition, two old 55 gallon drums buried in the over growth, just east of the main house, exploded. The explosions could be heard over a mile away. The contents of the drums were not identified.
After helping save the ranch on Saturday, Caminos 1 was utilized for patrol on Sunday and then assigned to an Initial Attack Strike Team for 3 more days.
These first twelve photos were provided by Linda Althoff - Oracle Volunteer Fire Department.
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Saturday afternoon, the fire heads south east from Oracle Hill. Note the heavy Type 4 fuels available. |
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Several resources stage on the plateau above the old ranch house. Globe Fire Type 6, Oracle Fire Type 2, and Avra Valley Fire Type 3 are in the foreground. |
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An air tanker makes a retardant drop on the fires north division. The Oracle community is over the hill, to the right. |
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Intense fire behavior just southwest of the ranch. |
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Intense fire behavior just southwest of the ranch. |
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Intense fire behavior just southwest of the ranch. |
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Photo taken from west of the ranch, looking east, about the time a drum blew up about 30 feet east of the ranch house. Note the tall pointy tree. The fire ball is just the other side of the ranch house. Caminos crew was also on the other side of the house. |
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Heavy smoke pours up after the two drums exploded. |
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Another shot of the intense fire behavior on the east side of the ranch. |
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The day after, this photo is taken just east of the ranch, looking west. Note the tall pointy tree. The previous photos were taken from the top of the hill, just to the left of the smoke column. |
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This photo shows how the fire burned completely around the ranch. The YMCA ranch is in the center of the photo in the distance. |
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The main ranch house the next day. |
The following photos provided by Frankie Perez - San Manual FD.
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Fire threatens the pool building at the ranch. |
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Fire makes a run towards the ranch from the north. The pool is visible in the foreground. |
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Looking south into the ranch complex. El Mac has its back to the wall ready to defend. |
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The skies of Hell |
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Flames roar east of the ranch house. |
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The Oracle Hill Crew - L-R Addam, Frankie and John |
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