Crews contain 4,400-acre southeastern Arizona wildfire at 60 percent

PHOENIX — A wildfire in southeast Arizona had burned 4,400 acres by Friday, but was no longer a threat to structures in the area and was at 60 percent containment, officials said.

The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post that the so-called Bruno Fire grew to 3,600 acres from 2,800 acres earlier that same day.

The Arizona State Forestry and Fire Management Department said rain Thursday night helped with the battle.

Update to the #BrunoFire in SAZ: Crews once again made excellent progress & have the fire 40% contained. The 3300+ acre fire received a significant amount of rain 2nite. Good news for firefighters! @CoronadoNF #AZFire #AZForestry pic.twitter.com/TZe54GSUnh

— AZ State Forestry (@azstateforestry) July 27, 2018

The Bruno Fire broke out around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, after lightning struck in the area. It was burning around 15 miles northeast of Douglas and east of the Leslie Canyon National Wildlife Refuge.

The Arizona Department of Forestry was the lead agency in containing the fire, but other local departments assisting included Douglas Fire Department, Sunsite Pierce Fire District and Fry Fire District.

Crews were also providing structure to the ranch threatened by the fire, which was about a quarter of a mile away.

The rugged and rocky terrain of the Pedregosa Mountains was making it difficult for crews to assess the fire.

A firefighter from the state was transported to the Copper Queen Medical Center in Douglas for heat exhaustion on Wednesday. He was treated and has returned home.

About 130 personnel from the Department of Forestry and Fire Management and local fire crews were working to put out the fire on Thursday.

Aircraft was also being utilized to help with reconnaissance and suppression efforts, Tiffany Davila with the Department of Forestry and Fire Management said in an email.

There were no closures listed as a result of the wildfire.

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