The Mountains are on Fire

Never having seen an erupting volcano, I've never seen anything that reminded me so much of Mount Doom as the Catalina mountains covered in wildfire. A lightning strike ignited the Big Horn Fire last Friday, and it's been growing ever since. On Saturday, I first noticed a plume of smoke rising from behind the mountains, then that evening a small portion of the ridge was lit by the glow of the fire. The photos below were taken last night, at which point the fire had spread over more than 3000 acres.

It's a simultaneously beautiful and frightening sight. Wildfires are, of course, a natural and important part of this and many other ecosystems. (Here's a great overview of the importance of natural wildfires, the dangers of fire suppression, and the decisions that go into fire management, written over ten years ago, after the Guthrie Fire.) But as the Big Horn Fire spreads, it's getting closer and closer to people's homes, and evacuations may be starting soon (as if we needed more to worry about right now)*. Nevertheless, from a safe distance the glow of the fire at night is spectacular, and I've never seen anything like it.

*Update: evacuations began this morning. https://www.kold.com/2020/06/11/update-parts-catalina-foothills-being-evacuated-because-back-burn/