Fire on the mountain

Pine is burning. It's a small community near Strawberry in Arizona. Both are rim communities -- on the edge of the Colorado Plateau.

I spent several years living below the rim -- looking up toward Strawberry and Pine.

Fire has been common in Arizona the past six years or so. The area has been going through a drought of epic proportions. I left there, in part, because of the threat -- and because of the drain on resources I figure every person adds.

The pronghorn were what really got to me. Between my community and Prescott, herds were common. But as water sources dried up, the pronghorn began to die in increasing numbers. Part of the problem were fences. Pronghorn don't jump them. They attempt to crawl under them. And modern fences along the highway are constructed so that they are too taught to crawl under.

Bears really suffer, too, especailly 2-year-old males. This is the age mother bears shed all ties with their young, and the males suffer the worst of it. The problem is more mature male bears fight them off their territory -- especailly when food is scarce. It's usually the 2-year-old males that end up around dumps and in towns and gardens. Then they are labeled nuisance bears, and shot. It's a tough lot in life.

The drought itself is one thing. Groundwater pumping is another. It is prolific in Arizona. It is so bad that land sinks as underwater lakes drop dramatically -- leaving big fissures and screwing with foundations and highways. Recently, a new law was passed in Phoenix requiring you to mention any subsidence from groundwater pumping when you sell your home there.

So back to Pine. Why am I bothered by yet another fire in this desperate land?

Because fire season begins in May and it is only February. This is the time of winter rain -- or used to be.

These are hard times in Arizona. Stay tuned.