Aquila all contained; Bighorn over 88K acres
Crews battling major wildfires across Arizona will be watching the weather this weekend, as a new fire ignited Thursday afternoon near Wittman.
A fire weather watch is in effect Sunday and Monday across most of the state, according to the National Weather Service. Dangerous fire conditions such as strong winds and low humidity are expected across southeast Arizona.
South winds 20 to 30 mph are forecast, with gusts up to 35 mph. Humidity is expected to be as low as 14 percent.
“Fuels are very dry and fire danger is very high,” according to the Weather Service. Temperatures are expected to hit 109 degrees Friday in Phoenix. In northern Arizona, cool temperatures Thursday are giving way Friday to breezy winds and partly sunny skies, said the Weather Service in Flagstaff.
❚ Aquila Fire: The Aquila Fire in north Phoenix has been fully contained after it burned around 900 acres, Arizona
Department of Forestry and Fire Management officials said Friday.
The wildfire, which destroyed one home and five secondary structures, started Thursday northeast of Interstate 17 and Carefree Highway near the Desert Hills community.
The fire is believed to be humancaused, and it still under investigation.
❚ Bighorn Fire: The Bighorn Fire has burned 88,046 acres in the Catalina Mountains northwest of Tucson and remains 33% contained, according to officials Friday morning.
More than 1,000 personnel are currently assigned to the fire.
Fire officials said windy conditions yesterday were expected to continue for the next few days. Smoke will continue to be visible from the north end of the fire, but it’s not a concern, according to fire officials Friday morning.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department ordered evacuations Friday evening for residents living on the eastern slope of Catalina Mountains, south of
the Pima County line and west of Redington. The community of Redington was also placed on a “SET” notice, meaning residents should prepare to evacuate.
A SET evacuation status is also in place for Oracle, portions of East Golder Ranch, the Catalina Foothills between Alvernon Way and Sabino Canyon Road, north of Skyline Drive and Peppersauce Canyon to Highjinks Road and Campo Bonito. Small animals can be taken to the Pima Animal Care Center at 4000 N. Silverbell Road, Tucson, 85745.
Evacuation orders remain in place for residents in Mt. Bigelow & Lower Soldier HOA, Summerhaven, Willow Creek, lower Catalina Highway and lower Mt. Lemmon communities from Organization Ridge Road to South Willow Canyon. Current closures include Sabino Canyon, Bear Canyon and Catalina State Park.
❚ Bringham Fire: The Bringham Fire, located 22 miles north of Morenci, has burned 22,244 acres and remained 37% contained Thursday, according to officials.
Highway 191 remains closed in both directions between milepost 189 past Juan Miller Road and milepost 225 at Blue Vista. The closure will remain in place through June 27, but it may be extended through July 4.
❚ Bush Fire: Now one of the largest wildfires in the state’s history, the Bush Fire has burned nearly 190,000 acres and is 90% contained, according to the fire incident website Friday.
Firefighters continue to work along state routes 87 and 188, so drivers should use caution when driving on these roads. As of Thursday, 364 fire personnel continued to work on containing the fire. Sunflower and Apache Lake residents were allowed to return home Tuesday.
The fire started June 13 in the Tonto National Forest and is believed to be human-caused.
❚ Central Fire: The Central Fire, which is human-caused, has burned nearly 4,500 acres east of I-17 at New River and is 80% contained as of Thursday evening. Containment increased from 69% earlier that day.
Motorists were alerted to smoke on recently opened highway routes during the night and early morning Friday.
Tonto National Forest has issued a closure around the Central Fire.
❚ Mangum Fire: The Mangum Fire, which started at the north rim of Grand Canyon National Park, has burned 71,420 acres as of Friday morning, according to a fire update by incident commander Dave Gesser.
While the fire was listed as being 68% contained due to a previous error in calculation, the correct containment percentage was reduced to 46%, according to the update.
On Thursday, a smoke column developed over the northeast section of the fire as it remained active. On other sections of the fire, crews extinguished hot spots, conducted suppression repair and improved fire lines. Power was restored to the park by late afternoon.
On Friday, firefighters continued to focus on suppression on the northeast side. More wind is expected over the weekend. Closures include Highway 89A, from milepost 545 near the Cliff Dwellings to Fredonia, and Highway 67, from Jacob Lake to the north rim of Grand Canyon National Park.
Highways 89A and 67 may be open for public travel by Sunday, according to the release. Due to road closures, the north rim of Grand Canyon is inaccessible, but the south rim remains open. Businesses remain open in Marble Canyon and Vermilion Cliffs. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
❚ Painted Wagon Fire: The Painted Wagon Fire, which destroyed five structures and about 500 acres, is 60% contained as of Friday, according to the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. The fire started Thursday afternoon near 299th Avenue and Painted Wagon Trail Road approximately 20 miles west of Wittman. Residents were told early Thursday afternoon to be prepared to evacuate, but the status was updated to “READY,” so no evacuations were ordered.