June 20, 2016

Earth, Wind, and Fire (and Smoke, Lots of Smoke)

Smoke from the "Brown Fire" (started in Brown Bear Canyon of the Baboquivary Mountains, 45 miles southwest of Tucson) obscures Baboquivary Peak and spreads over the United States Observatory at Kitt Peak at sunset on Saturday (6/18).


"Ring of Fire - 1": The Brown Fire at 1 AM, Sunday, June 19, 2016.


"Ring of Fire - 2": The Brown Fire at 1 AM, Sunday, June 19, 2016. Spot fires can be seen on the northeast aspect of Baboquivary Peak (to the right of the larger "ring of fire&quot . Fire size at this time was about 4000 acres.


The 99% waxing gibbous moon sets in heavy drift smoke at about 4:45 AM, Sunday, June 19, 2016.


Sunrise with thick, layered, drift smoke from fires to the northeast (probably the Cedar Fire near Show Low, Arizona, and fires in New Mexico). The San Pedro River Valley is holding the smoke like a bathtub holds water (lower right).


A strong northeast wind (25-35+ knots) prevailed most of the night and into mid-morning. This pushed smoke from the Brown Fire (63 miles southwest of me) into Mexico. But it gave us a rude surprise at about 5:30 AM today (Sunday).


Shortly after sunrise, drift smoke started spilling over the Santa Catalina mountain ridges, from the San Pedro Valley, and flowed down the drainages into Tucson. There was widespread public concern, and our fire dispatch center got a number of phone calls.


The hottest day of the year, so far, started quite cool in the high winds at 9000 feet elevation. I grabbed a cuppa, and sat down to rest (I had been shooting off & on since 12:45 AM!). This was about 5:50 AM. Within minutes the lookout phone rang (I really knew it was coming), and I was asked to saddle up the USFS ATV-Quad and do a recon of the north and eastern aspects of the Santa Catalina Mountains, just to rule out any smoke source locally.

Note: At 5 PM Sunday (6/19/2016), the Brown Fire in the Baboquivary Mountains is sized at 8100 acres, and the temperature in Tucson is 113*F. It is a pleasant 82*F here at the fire lookout at 9000 feet.

June 19, 2016

"Sunken Cathedral"

Poinsett Bridge (built 1820)
Greenville County, SC
2015

June 15, 2016

The Emmy landed at Lemmon Rock fire lookout today - incredible!

A happy day (after two very sad days) at the fire lookout today. This might just be the first time in history an Emmy statue has been photographed at a fire lookout, and standing on an Osborne Fire-Finder. I share this 2015 Emmy with the Arizona Public Media staffers who worked on the Lemmon Rock Lookout PBS documentary in 2014. Thanks to all of them for making this project a winner.

The AZPM producer actually hiked this in to the lookout this morning for this photo op (the Emmy resides at AZPM on the U of AZ campus). We did an NPR interview while he was there. I'm getting good at these!

Special thanks, also, to WCQS - Western North Carolina Public Radio in Asheville - for the use of their ISDN studio to finish the voice-over for this documentary.

June 5, 2016

Some recent photos from my current fire lookout .. enjoy!

Full moon night at Lemmon Rock (moon through the trees to the left of the lookout)


Moonrise in heavy drift smoke


Standing dead at dawn, with drift smoke and hawk


Moonrise over Lemmon Rock


On the Rock (I actually LIVE here!)

June 5, 2016

My Breakfast with the Champ: Muhammad Ali

It must have been December 7, 1970, because that was when Muhammad Ali fought Oscar “Ringo” Bonavena, at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. I was flying missions in Cambodia that day. The frag area was northwest of Pleiku, over the Ho Chi Minh Trail. We had departed Cam Ranh Bay at 04:45 to be over the target area at 05:55 (the mission was called “The Triple Nickle”). We arrived at the TACAN initial point, the 306 degree radial for 55 nm off TACAN Channel 53 (Pleiku), on time. We were working electronic counter-warfare targets in Cambodia, near the infamous TBA (Tri Border Area), where Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia meet.

With a 12 hour time difference, I would assume that Ali and Bonavena were putting on their war faces for the night fight at the Garden as we lifted off from Cam Ranh Bay before dawn. It is also probably safe to assume that both boxers were a little nervous going into their big fight. I know that my crew and I were nervous as hell going into the fight over the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Per our frag order, we came off the target in time to touch down at Pleiku at 10:00 am. The plan was to park in a protective revetment, re-fuel, and stay with the aircraft (which was loaded with top secret crypto gear) until our next mission into Cambodia started four hours later.

We taxied in, and were directed to a steel revetment at the base of the control tower. A tug waited for us, and positioned us in the revetment after the engines were shut down. As the engine noises ceased, I started to hear strange sounds coming from the control tower. Doing my post-flight walk-around inspection of the airplane, I realized the loud sound coming from the tower was a radio broadcast of a prize fight. AFVN Radio (Armed Forces Vietnam Radio, later of “Good Morning, Vietnam!” fame) was airing the Ali-Bonavena fight (and I still don’t know if it was live, or with a slight time delay).

We spread poncho liners out under and on the wings, broke out the box lunches and sodas, and had a tarmac picnic while listening to a fight half way around the world. If that sounds strange – and it was – stranger things were just a few fight rounds away. Ali had boasted that Bonavena was “Mine in Nine,” but I seem to recall that the fight went to 15 rounds (Ali won with a TKO). But another knockout was in our cards, in round five (IIRC), and we would not hear the end of the fight in Madison Square Garden.

The Pleiku Air Base control tower was built on pilings, and about 50 feet tall. With its catwalk around the tower cab, it looked like a classic US Forest Service L-4 fire lookout tower. There were four PA loudspeakers, one on each corner of the control tower. From these speakers the fight in NYC blared, at about 90+ decibels. Of interest too: the perimeter wire was not far at all from the control tower, and the perimeter guard towers were only manned at night.

Now, the Viet Cong (VC), about whom Ali famously said, “I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong,” generally worked nights, and – perhaps – slept during the day. I guess after five rounds of this strange 90+ dB noise coming from the AF control tower, several VC just had enough. They emerged from their spider holes just beyond the perimeter, and opened fire on the control tower with B-40 rockets.

I was on my poncho liner catching some rays when the first little finned rocket whooshed overhead and struck the tower. Followed quickly by at least a half dozen more. All scored direct hits. Left jabs. Shrapnel and glass rained down on us and on the aircraft. The tower staff evacuated down the steps (miraculously, no injuries to anyone). The tower was heavily damaged, and the prize fight was over, for us. One PA loudspeaker was smoking, and all four were silent.

Naturally, we went into defensive positions around our aircraft. But it was over before it even got started good. The VC disappeared, and US Army helicopter gunships and arty pulverized the already barren stretch just beyond the wire.

Almost three decades later, I had a chance to tell Muhammad Ali this story. It was over breakfast at the Ambassador West Hotel in downtown Chicago. It was in my airline pilot days, and our crew had a long layover in Chicago. One of the flight attendants was Ali’s niece (her mother was Ali’s sister). I had flown with Ali’s niece numerous times (we were both DCA based), and I had told her the story about the VC stopping the fight at Pleiku. She loved the story, and thought her uncle would really get a kick out of it.

So Muhammad Ali and his sister came to the hotel lobby in the morning, a couple of hours before our limo departure time for O’Hare Airport. I went down for breakfast, and was asked to join the three of them (I was in my airline uniform). Ali was soft spoken and engaging. We chatted a while, and when he got me really comfortable, I told him my VC story (I think his niece had told him about the story, and I think he was eager to hear it from me).

Well, he loved the story and he coaxed additional details from me. He made it fun to tell the story, and we both relished its absurdities. I ended by saying, ”Champ, you said ‘I ain’t got no quarrel with no Vietcong,’ but I think on that big fight night in New York City, the VC in Pleiku had a quarrel with you. The VC scored a knockout in round five.”

DemoTex
Wilderness of Rocks
Arizona
June 4, 2016