The Aspen Fire in the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson, Arizona. The fire started on July 17, 2003. This photograph was taken on August 7, 2003.

Ultimately, the fire raged on for several more weeks. It consumed 84,750 acres or about 132 square miles, destroyed 335 homes and cost over $17,000,000 to contain (not including property damage and loss). About 1,200 firefighters were involved at the peak of the efforts to suppress the fire, dropping 3.5 million gallons of water (in a dry, desert environment where water is always a concern) as well as 400,000 gallons of fire retardant.*

Earlier, Congress had been requested to allocate about $2,000,000 to cover the implementation of preventative measures. However, in the implementation of someone's infinite ecological wisdom, that allocation was cut back to about $150,000. I'm glad someone has their priorities straight.

We now have a better handle on the relative scale of an ounce of prevention versus a pound of cure.

Photo by Joekoz451 14:27, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

• Statistics: Arizona Daily Star, Sunday, August 17, 2003; Special Section "Smoke, Flames and Ash".