Arizona Wildfire has Reached Kitt Peak's National Observatory

originally posted by: TDDAgain
a reply to: gortex

I'm more concerned about people there, the forest and the animals. A fire like that kills hundred thousands of mammals, birds, reptiles and millions of insects including their habitat.

Actually, in the grand scheme of things, fires like this are an essential part of the lifecycle of these ecosystems, and are very good for the habitats. Don't get me wrong, I love animals too, and certainly don't relish the idea of lots of them perishing in a fire...

a reply to: tanstaafl

I know, life and death is a circle. I come from a viewpoint where both have the same value.

For life to flourish, there has to be death and decay, it's natural. But what isn't natural is the amount of fires. Humans cause them too and disturb that cycle on a different level than raindrops in the sun, volcanos or lightning strikes.

With the power we have, comes responsibility. I am well aware about the taste my post has. Far from being a environmental extremist, just provided the other side of the coin that was left out in the op. It's not a raised finger.

Actually, still waiting for a mods answer about a thread that I want to make. I want to use an example where I am not sure if it's okay to use here in a broader manner. I know the word has been used before here but I want to keep it classy.

Hint: It's about how around 3 millions die on average for 1 new life to flourish. Question is, is it life or pre-life, it moves and is biologic and has a destination.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
The news appears good for the observatory. Four non scientific buildings burned, but it appears that the domes survived intact. Defensive lines are around the surviving buildings. The fire spread to 17,646 acres with 0% containment.

It's late June. The hit or miss monsoons come to the rescue yet? I'm guessing this was dry lightning caused?

Usually July 1st was about the time when the monsoon really got going.

a reply to: Degradation33

The season is starting a little early this year. We had kind of a pseudo monsoon Saturday. Lots of little storms, one or two pretty violent. Parts of Pinal County got pea sized mark and 50 mph winds. Lots of lightning, but lucky away from the fire. The big benefit was bringing temps way down. We saw below 80 in some areas, in the middle of the afternoon.

Yeah, the Contreras Fire was a lightning strike June 11th.

Update as of yesterday.

A raging wildfire is "mostly holding" at Kitt Peak National Observatory, which remains too dangerous for astronomers to verify how much of the area was damaged, officials said in an update Monday (June 20).

Although initial evaluations suggest that all the telescope domes remain standing, the Arizona facility remains an "active fire fighting" area, with aerial firefighting efforts continuing by planes and helicopters over both the observatory and neighboring communities, officials from the National Science Foundation's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab), which runs the observatory, said in a statement(opens in new tab).

"It has not been possible to visit the observatory with a damage assessment team yet to evaluate the state of the telescopes," officials wrote. "The entire observatory is still considered too dangerous and is open only to the firefighting teams."
www.space.com...

a reply to: gortex

We could see the smoke columns from the fire Monday evening, from I-10.

Containment reached 100% yesterday. Maintenance workers have been allowed in to the observatory, but now that the monsoons have started, they're looking at flash floods, and debris being washed across roads.