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The Shultz fire was reported around 11:00 a.m. Sunday (6-20-2010) near Forest Road 420 - Shultz Pass Road. It was the second major wildfire in two days. Saturday the Hardy fire south of the I-40 burned 300 acres and forced 170 homes to be evacuated. As of Monday morning the Shultz fire has burned over 8,600 acres and forced evacuations of about 750 homes in nearby Timberline and Wupatki Trails neighborhoods west of Hwy 89. Fortunately to date no lives or homes have been lost.
UPDATE- As of 6/30 the burn area is 15,075 acres.
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The Shultz Pass was planned for thinning three years ago by the U.S. Forest Service. The thinning process is meant to prevent fires from growing into fires of this magnitude. A group called the Center for Biological Diversity (an environmental group) appealed and the thinning project was stopped. The groups reason for appealing? "It would have left fewer large trees and less canopy for wildlife than is called for in the forest plan". Ironically, we now have 15,000 plus burned acres where there are now NO live trees, large or small . Countless wildlife were killed, displaced and their valuable habitat lost for years to come. Not to mention the carbon emissions (CO2) that were released and the loss of trees that convert that CO2 into oxygen, creating an environmental double whammy effect. WAY TO GO CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY!!


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