Bondfire

The second Bondfire in the Indian Bend Wash, January 2026.

What it is

A fire, in the open, after dark.

Substance free. Low stimulation, high connection — an evening built so people actually talk to each other rather than talk over something.

It sits on the southern portion of the Indian Bend Wash: a large natural environment in the middle of a city, surrounded by overwhelming stimulation, that can hold a crowd without disturbing anyone.

Two of the best medicines are nature and community. Bondfire is both at once.

Five of them so far — three in North Scottsdale, then two in the wash.

North Scottsdale. Three of these came before the wash.

Before the wash

It started on open desert.

Three gatherings out in North Scottsdale before any of this reached a permit counter. Same fire, same ring of chairs, same rule about substances.

None of the paperwork below. That came with the city.

The part nobody sees

Four months of paperwork before a single match.

A Bondfire is not a party in a field. It is a permitted public assembly on public flood-control land, and every approval is triangulated between the Maricopa County Flood Control District, the City of Tempe, the Army Corps of Engineers, and us.

Earth is not moved. Levees are not used. No infrastructure is touched. That has to be demonstrated on paper before anyone says yes.

September 2025 Engineering and site plans begin
Construction work plan, emergency action plan, and the surveyed site map for the Flood Control District.
October 2025 Right-of-way permit granted
Maricopa County Flood Control District, with addenda, for access to the wash itself.
November 2025 Event description and schedule filed
Hour-by-hour setup and breakdown, vendor access, fire pit detail, and the clean-up commitment.
December 2025 Tempe approvals, then the first fire
Outdoor assembly permit and open burning permit granted. The first Bondfire in the wash drew 100 people.
January 2026 The full plan set again, for the second
Accessibility, community outreach, emergency evacuation, dust management, traffic control — resubmitted and re-approved. A task force review with the City. Then 170 people on the 23rd.

What gets approved

Every one of these, every time.

Tempe Outdoor Assembly Permit
Open Burning Permit
Flood Control District right-of-way permit, with addenda
Group gathering permit
Fire inspection and a walk of the property with Tempe Fire
Certificate of insurance — one for the County, one for the City
Traffic control plan, with professional traffic control on site
Emergency action plan and evacuation plan
Construction work plan
Dust management plan
Accessibility plan and ADA facilities
Community outreach and neighborhood notification
Surveyed site map, illuminated exit signage, occupant load signage
Fire pit detail and a written final clean-up commitment
Twelve feet of access through the site, 13.5 feet of vertical clearance for fire trucks

On the night

It runs on people.

Thirty-five volunteers. Setup starts at midday and breakdown finishes at two in the morning. None of it is contracted out except the traffic control.

Before. Vendors in and staged. Brush cleared from every fire pit. Emergency water storage placed. Trash cans out, facilities unlocked, and the whole property walked with Tempe Fire.

Parking. Entry through a single 24-foot gate off the Curry Road cut curb, into a 65 by 300 foot marked lot for roughly a hundred vehicles, with a dedicated lane kept clear for EMS.

After. Fires doused with water. Water containers removed. Vendors out. Trash, ash and materials cleared, bagged and contained. Traffic panels off the property the next day.

The neighbours. Every adjacent resident and business notified by email, phone, or a knock on the door before each event.

Two events in the wash. Zero complaints.

A crowd gathered around a fire at dusk in the open desert, moon overhead — North Scottsdale, before the move into the wash.

Where it goes next

Somewhere permanent.

There isn’t one on the calendar this season. We’re working toward a permanent home for gatherings like this, and we’d rather put the effort there than run another one-off.

If that comes together, we’d like to be back around a fire in January or February — and to keep activating a space that has responded to it.