Two lightning caused fires began on the mountain about the same time, the Nuttall Fire began in Nuttall Canyon and the Gibson Fire began near Gibson Canyon. The fires almost merged near the bottom of Ash Creek on July 9, 2006. The two fires were combined as the Nuttall Complex under the jurisdiction of the Southwest Area Incident Management Team.
On Heliograph Peak, one structure was lost to the fire, and one structure was damaged. Fortunately, the Observatory did not receive any damage.
- Fire started on June 22, 2004 (Gibson) and June 26, 2004 (Nuttall)
- Fire contained: approximately July 13, 2004
- Closest approach to the Observatory: 200 yards on July 6, 2004
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29,200 acres burned
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12 hotshot crews
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3 regular crews
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6 helicopters
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20 engines
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16 water tenders
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4 bulldozers
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204 support personnel
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683 personnel
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Estimated fire cost to USFS: $10.0M
The progression and scale of the fire is described in this document.
Below is a topographic overview of the scale of the Nuttall Complex fire:
Images of the fire are below:
