The Aspen Fire

2004

The Aspen Fire has been burning for 18 days and has consumed more than 80,000 acres in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson. This photo was taken July 4 when high winds caused another flare-up.

These two photos were taken from my house the evening of July 2.

The cloud of smoke is so thick we can barely see the mountains, but at sunset there was a clear line of flames from dozens of backfires.

The following photos were taken about 1:00 on Thursday, June 18. High winds suddenly turned the fire into an inferno that jumped Marshall Gulch and raced through the town of Summerhaven, destroying some 300 homes.