WILDFIRE

Earlier today, I shot an innocuous photo of a house finch sitting atop a Shepherd's hook.  Directly behind the bird, I saw what looked like smoke rising from the mountains.  I didn't pay any further attention to it because I thought it could have been dust being whipped up by the strong winds.  I did know that a fire watch was to go into effect Monday morning.

I just turned off the lights and television, and as I stood in the dark, I looked through the glass door. That's when I saw it - the mountains ablaze.  This was the best photo I could get. 

All wildfires are given names.  This one is being called the Sawmill Fire. It's about 10 miles southeast of Green Valley, into Box Canyon. As of 9 pm it has burned almost 900 acres. Crews are lighting back burns to keep it from going to Madera Canyon. It's expected to grow to about 1,500 acres overnight. The fire is moving towards Forest Service land in the area (Madera Canyon). Five air tankers have been ordered. Cross your fingers that our amazing wildlife can be saved.

To see better photos, check out this slideshow  from a Tucson news station.  This is scary stuff.