April 4, 2018 • Vol. 16, No. 19
POSTAL PATRON CAVE CREEK
www.thefoothillsfocus.com
ECRWSS Carrier Route PreSorted Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 371 Cave Creek, AZ
Anthem | Black Canyon City | Carefree | Cave Creek | Desert Hills | New River| North Phoenix | Tramonto | Vistancia
Lake Pleasant’s bald eagles a rare, close look TARA ALATORRE STAFF
LAKE PLEASANT – The bald eagles circling overhead tell us that we have arrived at our destination. In the middle of nowhere on a high, craggy lake cliffside, up a feral donkey trail, through a thorny obstacle course, biologists and conservationists gather at a nesting location where a pair of bald eaglets sit perched on a warm spring day. The bald eagles may only be about six-weeks-old, but they have already gained quite a bit of attention as a small group of about 20 educators, media
members, nest watchers and biologists ascend up the steep trail to the nesting area, and become fixated on the fluffy juvenile raptors. Go-Pros, zoom lenses, high powered binoculars, cell phones, every type of media device imaginable becomes engrossed on a nest that sits about 50-feet below us. The sound of cameras firing echoes in the canyons of Lake Pleasant and the footballsized eaglets are the stars of the show here today. BALD EAGLE
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Pictured: One of two young bald eaglets nesting above Lake Pleasant that were fitted with leg bands to help wildlife specialists identify and monitor the raptors for their entire lives.
Photo courtesy of Tara Alatorre/Staff
Hot air balloon with 13 passengers lands in Cave Creek, causes small brush fire TARA ALATORRE STAFF
Photos courtesy of Sheila Wright
Pictured: A tree branch punctured a hot air balloon during its landing causing it to catch fire and ignite a small brush fire on March 28. All 13 passengers exited the balloon before the fire started and there were no injuries.
WICKENBURG: Literary Festival celebrates AZ storytellers
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CAVE CREEK – On the morning or March 28, a hot air balloon operated by Hot Air Expeditions based out of North Phoenix made a routine landing near 36th Street and Carefree Highway. On the decent a nearby branch punctured the balloon and it caught fire causing the hot air balloon, basket and small brush fire to ignite after all 13 passengers had made a standard normal exit. “The landing, which was also a safe, calm and routine landing, was facilitated well,” according to a press release from Hot Air Expeditions regarding the incident.
All 13 passengers were safely escorted away from the small fire as fire extinguishers and water were used by Hot Air Expedition staff while they waited for firefighters to arrive on the scene. The Phoenix Fire Department arrived on the scene shortly after the fire ignited, which was quickly extinguished, according to witnesses. “No passengers were injured or in harms way prior to, during, or after the incident, and were all in good spirits,” the press release stated. Earlier reports from other local media outlets had incorrectly reported that the air balloon had caught fire during the flight causing a
“crash landing,” which is not factual according Chris O’Neil, a media representative for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). “That is correct, a tree branch caught fire,” he said, while adding that the branch punctured the envelope, which is the colorful outer shell of a hot air balloon after landing. After the envelope caught fire, the basket became engulfed in flames, which was well after the passengers had exited the hot air balloon. The pilot operating the balloon has over 30 years of
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BALLOON FIRE continued on page 6
• Bluhm Column
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• Service Directory
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• Classified Ads
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