CREWS GAIN ON FIRE
Firefighters advance against Bighorn Fire
An air tanker drops fire retardant in the battle against the Bighorn Fire.
Evacuations were lifted for hundreds of foothills homes on the outskirts of Tucson as firefighters gained the upperhand on a wildfire burning in the Santa Catalina mountains in a national forest.
Officials with the Pima County Office of Emergency Management and the Pima County Sheriff ’s Department said those who evacuated may return to their residences, but should “remain vigilant” and be prepared to evacuate if the status changes.
Fire officials said the fire’s growth slowed overnight but that it has burned more than 7,000 acres and remained a threat. Flames have been visible from Tucson at night, and smoke from the fire plumed over a suburb Friday morning.
Pima County officials on Thursday issued an evacuation notice for approximately 300 homes in an area south of the Coronado National Forest, and numerous other residents were told to prepare to evacuate.
“Overnight, the fire grew to the northeast past Buster Spring into Montrose Canyon. Yesterday’s work near Pima Canyon held overnight, with minimal fire growth in that area,” Coronado National Forest officials said on Facebook.
Fire crossed over retardant lines near upper western edge of Ventana Canyon. Steep, rocky terrain continues to be a challenge for crews trying to build fire lines.
Weather is expected to be a factor Friday as fire crews could experience the highest temperatures yet, topping 107 degrees, with a chance of dry thunderstorms that could create erratic winds in the afternoon, forest officials said.
Over 400 firefighters aided by aircraft dropping water and retardant battled the week-old lightning-sparked fire that as of Friday burned 7,092 acres, or about 11 square miles , of mostly brush and tall grass.
Sheriff ’s officials went door to door in neighborhoods on Thursday to notify residences of the evacuation notice, which a sheriff ’s spokesman said on Friday wasn’t mandatory.
“People are not required to leave, however we are telling people we may not be able to come back and assist if things start to burn,” said Deputy James Allerton.
No injuries or structural damage was reported, Allerton said.
Travis Mayberry, an operations section chief for the fire management team, said on Friday much of the fire was burning in terrain too rugged for grounds crews to work safely, particularly if they needed to escape quickly.
“It’s not a great place for us to put people in to safely work,” he said. “It’s just too steep.”
Mayberry said crews continued to clear lines to keep the fire away from homes south of the forest and might set additional fires to burn vegetation to slow the wildfire by depriving it of potential fuel.
The fire, sparked June 5 by lightning, was only 10% contained as of Friday morning, and Mayberry said increasing the containment figure would be a slow process because of the rugged terrain.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency granted Arizona’s request for money to help fight the fire, officials said Thursday.
Most of the western United States is experiencing extreme dryness or drought, creating challenging conditions for wildfire season, Bryan Henry, meteorologist with the National Interagency Fire Center, said in a recent fire season outlook.
The dry, hot weather and the steep, rocky topography have been the main challenges in fighting the fire near Tucson, fire management team Adam Jarrold said Thursday.
Temperatures have pushed past 100 degrees and the humidity was in single digits.
A cooling shelter was set up at Canyon Del Oro High School, 25 W. Calle Concordia, in Oro Valley.
Catalina State Park is closed, and large portions of national forest near the fire are restricted, forest officials said.
Orders to evacuate were downgraded, per the Pima County Sheriff ’s Department and the Pima County Office of Emergency Management.. Officials are using the three-step “Ready, Set, Go!” program to advise residents when evacuation is necessary.
Residents in the areas previously in the “GO! – Evacuate” stage of alert have been downgraded to “SET – Be Alert,” officials said. Those in areas in the SET stage will remain in the same status.
Sheriff’s officials asked residents in SET areas to consider voluntarily relocating with family or friends, according to the Coronado National Forest post on Facebook.
Those in SET areas should stay aware of the latest information from public safety and public health officials, said Deputy Daniel Jelineo, a Pima County Sheriff’s Department spokesman.
“This might be the only notice you receive,” Jelineo said. “Emergency services cannot guarantee they will be able to notify everyone if conditions rapidly deteriorate. Be SET to go.”