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Mt Lemmon Fire - June and July 2003
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In late June and early July 2003, a large forest fire raged on
Mt. Lemmon in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, Arizona.
The Aspen fire started on Tuesday, June 17 at approximately 3:30
PM near Marshall Peak, about two miles from the small town of
Summerhaven, Arizona, at the summit of the Catalina Mountains.
The fire grew rapidly because of high winds, gusting at 40- to
60-mph. These winds accounted for the fire growing from about
450 acres by early morning on June 19, to about 4,000 acres by
nightfall. The Aspen Fire burned 85,000 acres in total and was
finally brought under control by mid July. Fortunately, the
fire took no lives though many homes and businesses were
destroyed along with thousands of acres of beautiful forest
lands. The observatories on the mountain were threatened by the
fire, but they survived the ordeal intact. The fire was visible
from Tucson with large clouds of smoke blowing down into the
city. Some homes on the far Northeast side of the Tucson greater
metropolitan area were threatened by the fire for a time, and on
some evenings the fire was clearly visible burning on the front
range of the Catalina Mountains. It provided a dramatic backdrop
to the city skyline, though at no time was Tucson significantly
threatened by the fire. The following images were taken in late
June and early July 2003 with a Nikon D100 digital camera using
a variety of lenses. These are 1-4 second exposures with the
camera ISO set at 1600. The 3towers Observatory is evident in
the foreground.
tbh
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