September 14, 2004
Walhalla Plateau Prescribed Fire
So many things are visible from Hopi Pt, ensuring that Condor Watch Shifts are never boring. Here are photos of the prescribed fire, burning for several weeks now on Walhalla Plateau near the rim and due east of, and across Bright Angel Creek from, the North Rim Complex.
As prescribed burns go, this is a big one, over 3200 acres at the time of this photo on 13 Sep. It was so prominent from Hopi Pt that park rangers came to Hopi Pt to discuss the fire rather than their normal topic, the condors!
Flames were frequently visible well over 100 ft high, perhaps as high as 500 ft, as dead snags erupted and pushed the fire into the crown.
All pictures from Hopi Pt by S Harger, using Sony DSC707. The last picture is at 700X using a combination of 10X camera magnification and 70X telescope magnification.