Rodeo-Chediski fire

The Rodeo-Chediski fire burned in east-central Arizona beginning on June 18, 2002, and was not controlled until July 7. It was the worst forest fire in Arizona to date, consuming 467,066 acres (1,890 km²) of woodland. Several local communities, including Show Low, Arizona, Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ, and Heber-Overgaard, AZ, were threatened and had to be evacuated.

Initially there were two separate fires. The first fire, the Rodeo fire, was reported on the afternoon of June 18 near the Rodeo Fairgrounds on the Fort Apache Reservation. An arsonist was arrested on June 29 and was later charged. By early evening, despite the efforts of firecrews, around 1,200 acres (5 km²) were ablaze. Increasing wind speeds fed the fire to over 2,000 acres (8 km²) by the following morning, and when wind speeds increased to around 25 mph (40 km/h) the fire grew rapidly -- increasing fourfold over the next three hours.

The Chediski fire was first reported on the morning of June 20 near Chediski Peak northwest of Cibecue, AZ. It had been started by a stranded motorist trying to signal a news helicopter. Her car had run out of gas two days earlier, and she had been wandering on foot trying to find cellphone reception. Similarly fed by the strong winds, this fire spread to 2,000 acres (8 km²) by mid-afternoon, and by the following morning it covered over 14,000 acres (57 km²).

By June 21 the Rodeo fire had consumed around 150,000 acres (600 km²). Around 8,000 people were evacuated; by the end of the fire around 30,000 people would be moved. The two burning areas approached through crosswinds over June 21-22 as a further 11,000 people were ordered to leave their homes. The burning areas joined on June 23 having consumed around 300,000 acres (1,200 km²) of woodland. The fire's progress slowed after the two merged and by June 26 the fire was 5% contained by backburning, cutting and slurry - protecting the settlements of Clay Spings, Linden and Pinedale, but 460,000 acres (1,900 km²) had burned. The fire was 28% contained by June 28 but it was not fully under control until July 7 at a cost of about $50 million. About 400 homes were destroyed in Pinedale and other small communities. The fire was declared a disaster area.

Of the woodland destroyed the majority, 280,992 acres (1,137 km²) was part of the Fort Apache Reservation. Of the rest, 167,215 acres (677 km²) was destroyed in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and 10,667 acres (43 km²) in the Tonto National Forest. The remaining destruction occurred on private land.

After the fire there were efforts to stabilize the landscape by Burn Area Emergency Recovery teams. Water bars, wattles and K-rails were put in place and there were over two weeks of aerial seeding, dropping around 5 million pounds (2.3 million kg) of winter wheat or indigenous grass seeds over 180,000 acres (730 km²).

Certain political figures, including Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, blamed the fire on "hardcore" environmentalists and their opposition to logging to "thin" the forests. It is debatable whether this was actually true or not. But certainly this fire, among other devastating drought-year fires in the American West, did help propel new forest management laws, enacted by both the U.S. Congress and local authorities. Of these the most notable is the Healthy Forest Restoration Act, which President George W. Bush signed into law in 2003.

The arsonist, who received a 10-year prison sentence in March 2004, was Leonard Gregg, a Cibecue resident who worked as a seasonal firefighter for the tribal fire department. He told investigators he had set two fires that morning (the first was quickly put out) in hopes of getting hired by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs for a quick-response fire crew. Gregg had previously worked as a BIA fire crew member, and was indeed among the first to be called in to fight the Rodeo Fire.

See also the similar Hayman fire near Denver, set by a US Forest Service worker on June 8, 2002.