A Hard Wind

I've been encouraged by reports in the past few days that intensity of the Horseshoe Two Fire burning in the Chiricahuas has, for the most part, been carefully managed to achieve a low-to-moderate burn in many of our most treasured locales. The balance between a controlled and a rampant fire, between hope and fear, between panic and calm, has been delicate. The skills of the Type 1 teams and all the support staff have been pitted against the exceedingly dry conditions--and the wind. Always the wind.

Reed Peters reports that today's briefing to the firefighters was more somber than most, because of the danger posed by today's continuing strong wind. It is expected to blow from the southwest at 15-25 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph.

Fire Map on 30 May 2011 (Photos by Wynne Brown)

The main concern is holding the fire line between Saulsbury Saddle and West Turkey Creek, so that it doesn't jump into Pinery Canyon or Whitetail Canyon. One Whitetail resident, Wynne, was cautioned that Whitetail may have to be evacuated if the fire breaches Saulsbury Saddle. In addition, should that happen, the burn size could be as large as 100,000 acres. (Right now it stands at about 60,000 acres.)

High winds will ground even the big helicopters, thus hampering efforts to hold the fire line.

Detail of the Saulsbury Saddle-West Turkey Creek area

Reed writes, "The constant smoke in Portal has been an added factor to everyone's unease. Most nights this past week there was an inversion, with the smoke lying thick in the canyon during the night, and lifting somewhat during the day."

If the fire can be held today, the next few days are forecast to be calmer, so we should get some respite.

The ranchers say that a windy spring is forerunner to a summer monsoon, rather than summer drought. If that truism holds, and the amount of wind is any indication, the monsoon of 2011 should be a humdinger.

A post script: the fire lines held, even with wind gusting in excess of 45 mph! Very good.

Fond of Swallows

Yesterday the first Tree Swallows of the season were arriving in the Animas Valley, glistening with deep blue and bright white as they homed in on the waters of the cienaga. Tree Swallows are usually the first of their clan to arrive in spring, en route to their northerly breeding grounds.

A friend in Alaska put out nest boxes for them at his house, partly just to enjoy their presence and partly for their prowess in catching mosquitoes. Each year when the young Tree Swallows fledged and the families departed for milder climes, he would notice a big uptick in the number of mosquitoes around his house.

Barn Swallows on the Diamond A (Photo by Narca)

Swallows belong to a cosmopolitan family, gracing every continent except Antarctica. Many sport brilliant colors, and some have long tail streamers to aid their aerial adroitness. Journey up the rivers of the Amazon Basin and you'll find swallows. Land at an airport in Australia, and you are likely to be greeted by their Welcome Swallow. Isn't that a great name?

Swallow migration has always fascinated me. As strong fliers, they often migrate by day, feeding on aerial insects as they go. Once, about October, I was guiding a World Wildlife Fund tour in the cerrado of central Brazil, a region dominated by giant termite mounds. The rains had begun about two weeks earlier. On our first day, we saw only one or two swallows, and I was puzzled by their absence. Usually in the Brazilian spring, hundreds of swallows and martins (their larger cousins) are swooping over the shrubby grasslands of the cerrado. That night it rained again, and by morning winged termites were emerging in the millions. And overhead the morning sky was dark with thousands of Cliff Swallows, which had arrived overnight, timing their appearance to match perfectly the emergence of this bounty of food.

Here in the States, seven species of swallows, plus the Purple Martin, breed regularly. The most local of those is the Cave Swallow. Here's a tip for finding it in West Texas: take the frontage roads off I-10, and check the highway underpasses for the swallows' mud nests. Sometimes the nests of Cave Swallows will be mixed in with those of Cliff Swallows, and sometimes you'll find a small, pure colony of Caves.

Barn Swallow detail from Self Portrait as Garden