Smoke from Wallow Fire in Albuquerque, sunset, June 7, 2011Wallow North and Horseshoe Two Fires (lower left), Arizona. NASA satellite image, midday, June 12, 2011. Vertical line is AZ-NM state line.
The Wallow Fire, named for the Bear Wallow Wilderness area where the fire originated, was a massive wildfire that started in the White Mountains near Alpine, Arizona on May 29, 2011. The fire eventually spread across the stateline into western New Mexico, United States.[2][3] By the time the fire was contained on July 8, it had consumed 538,049 acres (2,177 km2) of land, 522,642 acres (2,115 km2) in Arizona and 15,407 acres (62 km2) in New Mexico.[1]
Cause
The fire was started accidentally by two men who were camping. They cooperated with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges relating to mismanagement of their campfire.[4] In November, 2012 they were ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3.7 million.[5][6]
On June 12, evacuations were lifted for Eagar, Springerville and South Fork.[12] On June 14, the Wallow Fire became the largest fire in Arizona history, passing the Rodeo-Chediski Fire, which burned 732 square miles (1,900 km2) in 2002. On June 18 and 20, evacuations were lifted for Alpine[13] and Greer[14] and on June 21, the evacuation for Luna, NM was lifted.[15] Additionally, the Apache National Forest was closed to the public.[16]
On July 3, the fire was 95% contained. The Wallow Fire was declared 100% contained as of 6 p.m., July 8.[1]
Damage
Four commercial buildings were destroyed; 36 outbuildings were destroyed and one damaged; 32 residences were destroyed and 5 damaged. The estimated cost was $109 million.
Widespread smoke plume
The thick smoke in the NASA satellite image was only part of the smoky haze plaguing the continental United States in early June 2011. According to the U.S. Air Quality "Smog BlogArchived 2011-07-14 at the Wayback Machine", smoke from fires in Arizona and New Mexico extended through Texas and Oklahoma up into the Great Lakes region, affecting air quality for large areas east of the Rocky Mountains.[17][18][19]
