Bighorn Fire near Tucson containment increases to 33% with no growth
Jun 23, 2020, 8:55 AM | Updated: 9:26 am
(InciWeb Photo)
(InciWeb Photo)
PHOENIX – The Bighorn Fire has consumed 58,553 acres of southern Arizona’s Catalina Mountains as of Monday night and is 33% contained, according to fire officials.
The fire didn’t gain any ground on Monday, but the containment increased from 16%.
The Bighorn Fire is currently the third largest fire burning in the United States.
A Type 1 Incident Management team assumed command of the fire Monday evening, InciWeb reported.
Residents near Mount Lemmon, Mount Bigelow, the community of Summerhaven, Peppersauce Canyon to Highkinks Road and Campo Bonito and the Lower Catalina Highway and Lower Mount Lemmon communities from Organization Ridge Road to South Willow Canyon are still under evacuation status.
The communities of Oracle and portions of Golder Ranch are placed on “set” alert status, letting residents know they should be prepared for a possible evacuation order.
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Catalina Foothills and Oro Valley are also on notice for potential evacuations.
An evacuation center has been opened at Sahuaro High School in Tucson.
As of Monday, there have been no homes lost in the fire.
There have been five minor heat-related illness reported.
An interactive map of the Bighorn Fire alert zones can be found online.
Lightning started the fire June 5.
High temperatures and gusty winds have created challenging conditions for firefighters, who also are dealing with steep, rocky terrain.
Catalina State Park is closed because of the fire, and portions of the Coronado National Forest Santa Catalina Ranger District are restricted.
More than 300,000 acres of private, federal and tribal land in Arizona have been burned by nearly 1,000 fires this year.
KTAR 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross contributed to this report.
