120,000 acres of pristine wilderness burnt | Woodbury fire

Posted By

Kevin Allard

September 15, 2019

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A look at the destruction of the Woodbury fire

I took a drive to the Reavis Ranch trailhead yesterday. The destruction from the Woodbury fire is immense. It looks like a completely different place.

Although wildfires are a naturally occurring thing, we should do our best to mitigate human-caused fires. Because those who need to hear a lecture, will not listen. We will not even go there. We will be ready next year with an all-new approach to wildfire education.

Although about 85% of the plant life burnt, most of it is already bouncing back. Unfortunately, hundreds of saguaro cactuses have met their fate. Many are burnt around the base and probably will not survive.

Most of the acacia trees that I saw survived. Acacia is extremely resilient to fire and there is new growth appearing around the base of each tree. The yucca plants survived and are sprouting new growth from the roots. Prickly Pear and Hedgehog Cactus are all damaged pretty bad but some should survive just fine. The wildflowers and other seasonal plants will be just fine as their roots lie dormant under the soil.

The wildlife will struggle until vegetation regenerates. Two fawns crossed the Apache trail as I approached the Reavis trail. They stopped to munch on some vegetation before taking off towards the fish creek. Many lizards and other small Ground Dwellers were running across rocks looked to be in good health.

Many birds of prey were flying overhead and roosting on saguaros as it was easy to pick off an easy meal with almost no vegetation. Smaller birds were nowhere to be found with no trees to nest in. Turkey vultures were circling above, honing in on the next scavenger hunt.

Mother nature is an amazing thing. Please do your best to keep it that way.

Kevin Allard

Kevin is a proud American outdoorsman with deep roots in Arizona’s rugged wilderness. Raised in the heart of rural Arizona, he spent his youth exploring the untamed backcountry alongside his father, igniting a lifelong passion for adventure and history. Today, Kevin continues that legacy with his son, journeying into Arizona’s most remote corners in search of forgotten trails and the stories of early western pioneers.

A staunch advocate for motorized access to public lands, Kevin combines his love for the outdoors with a dedication to stopping government overreach. His work has been featured in respected outlets like The Western Journal and 4Low Magazine, and he shares his adventures and advocacy through his platform, AZBackroads.com.

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