and resoviors in the area including Crescent Lake, Reservation Lake, Hurricane Lake Lee Valley Lake, Sunrise Lake,River Reservoir, and Hawley Lake. Near the West Fork Black River and Thompson trail #629 is the remnants of the Apache Railway. The railway spanned from Holbrook near Interstate 40 and traveled south traveling through Snowflake, Pinetop-Lakeside and McNary before reaching the logging camp at Maverick, Arizona, just south of Big Lake. Logging operations started in 1918 and in 1964 the White Mountain Scenic Railroad operated on the line. The scenic railroad ceased operations in 1976 and in 1982 the line from Maverick to McNary was removed. Just a few miles west of the lake is Fort Apache Indian Reservation and to the east, the round summit of Escudilla Mountain (10,916 ft) located within the Escudilla Wilderness along the New Mexico boarder. It is the 3rd highest mountain in the state and sits just north of Alpine. Escudilla was severely burned in the Wallow Fire and is left barren. Surrounding the lake, the scars of the Wallow Fire can be seen. The massive wildfire started in the White Mountains near Alpine, Arizona on May 29, 2011 due to the mismanagement of a campfire. The communities of Alpine, Blue River, Greer, Nutrioso, Sunrise, Springerville, Eagar in Arizona, and Luna in New Mexico were evacuated. The fire jumped state lines and continued to grow till July 8 at 6 p.m., when it declared 100% contained. The fire destroyed 72 building and injured 16 wildland firefighters. It burned 522,642 acres (2,115 km2) in Arizona and 15,407 acres (62 km2) in New Mexico, becoming the largest wildfire in Arizona history surpassing the Rodeo-Chediski Fire which burned 468,638 acres along the Mogollon Rim in 2002. Climate Big Lake has a Humid continental climate (Köppen Csa), due to its high elevation at 9,000 feet (2,700 m). Summer temperatures range from the mid 60s to high 70s but the area will occasionally reach temperatures around or higher. During the summer months, monsoon storms develop daily in the late morning and early afternoon hours, bringing heavy rain, strong wind, thunder, lightning, and even hail. These thunderstorms help lower temperatures of the surrounding areas. In July, the average high temperature is with an average low temperature of and in January, the average high temperature is with an average low temperature of . Winters are harsh with nighttime lows in the negatives and daytime