On May 29th, 2011, I had just returned home from my first BBQ competition. We no sooner got into the house that the fire pager started going off, advising that there was a fire in the Bear Wallow area. This was the start of Arizona’s largest wildfire burning over 500,000 acres. With this much damage to the forest I knew it was going to affect our economy and I took it upon myself to think of ways to get people up on the mountain. Due to my just coming back from a BBQ competition I started organizing a local bbq one. The first year was very successful - we had $10,000 in prize money and about 20 teams from all over Arizona and other states compete. This proved to be very successful for the community and for the charity we did it for.

In 2015 we changed strategy and instead of having a 4-meat competition we went to a rib burn. This started out slow - going from 5 teams the first year to 21 teams in 2018. We make this a fun competition in which we supply the ribs and have a very low entry fee. We also have numerous raffle items that we give out. This is a 3-day event starting on Thursday with the tri tip dinner for the local citizens, then an appetizer and dessert party on Friday, with the conclusion of the rib burn on Saturday. Teams are coming up early and staying later to enjoy our beautiful area and explore the White Mountains at their own pace.

You will want to come early to this event - the ribs sell out very quickly. Come up and enjoy great food, meet some fantastic people, and get raffle tickets to win some amazing prizes. This event would not happen without the participation of the teams that compete and the people who come and support it. This has become an annual event and it keeps growing each year. This event has benefited the White Mountain Historical Society and the Heritage Museum by giving them the funds in which to make improvements on the exhibits or grounds.

-Mike Nuttall