Southwest Area Incident Management Team 4 will be hosting a virtual community meeting online Thursday July 9th at 8:00 p.m.
Please join us on Facebook Live on the Bighorn Fire Info page. You do not need a Facebook account to watch the meeting.
https://www.facebook.com/bighornfireinfo/ 
Questions for the speakers can be sent ahead of time to 2020.bighorn@firenet.gov
We will try to answer as many questions as we can. 
A recording of the informational meeting will be available on the Facebook page for later viewing.   

The Bighorn Fire Video Update for July 7, 2020 with Operations Section Chief Buck Wickham is now available on the Bighorn Fire Info Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/bighornfireinfo/videos/946635662416683

Bighorn Fire Morning Update, July 8, 2020

Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team 4

Carl Schwope, Incident Commander 

 

Bighorn Fire Info: (520) 329-7439, 8AM-8PM

Media Phone Line: (520) 329-7640, 8AM-8PM

Website: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6741/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bighornfireinfo

Smoke: wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/EasternArizona

Burned Area Response: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6796/

NWS Burn Scar www.weather.gov/twc/bighorn-burn-scar
 
 

Incident Statistics

Location:  Santa Catalina Mountains

Size:      119,020 acres

Containment:    78%

Date detected: June 5, 2020

Cause:  Lightning

Resources: 4 Hand Crews, 12 Engines, 4 Water-tenders, 4 Helicopters, 311 Personnel  
 
Highlights: Redington Road remains closed. A closure order remains in place on the Coronado National Forest for the areas affected by the Bighorn Fire.
Pima County Office of Emergency Management and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department have downgraded the areas of Mt. Lemmon/Mt. Bigelow, including the community of Summerhaven and the Willow Canyon area, from “GO!” to "SET”.  In addition, all Summerhaven and Willow Canyon residents and employees will be allowed to return, with restrictions, starting today.  More details can be found at https://www.facebook.com/pimasheriff.

Weather: Partly cloudy with a slight chance for an afternoon shower or thunderstorm. Minimum humidity levels will range from 15 to 19% across the lower elevations and 19 to 25% in the higher elevations. Temperatures will range from 101 to 106 degrees in the valley.

Yesterday’s Activity: Repair and rehabilitation of firelines continued around the fire perimeter. In Catalina State Park, crews utilized chippers on the Romero Canyon Trail to reduce brush and other vegetation material created during fireline construction. Additional rehabilitation work continued in the area surrounding Peppersauce Campground.

Today’s Activity: Portions of the fire that still have active fire edges have shown little movement in the last few days.  Some areas of interior burning continue to produce smoke that remains visible from the valley.  Resource advisers and specialists from the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team will be working today in multiple areas of the fire. Hotshot crews working in the Summerhaven area will continue to prep along the Catalina Highway where fire is still active on the south flank of Rose Peak. Residents returning to the Summerhaven area are advised to drive with caution and watch out for crews working in the community.

 
County Evacuation and Flood Information

PIMA    

Pima.gov/bighorn

 myalerts.pima.gov 

COCHISE             

cochise.az.gov/emergency

PINAL   

www.pinal.gov

pinalcountyaz.gov/emergencymanagement

A temporary flight restriction is in place over the fire area. If you fly, we can’t knowbeforeyoufly.org.

Closures: Cascabel Road at the Cochise County/Pima County line is now open. Sabino Canyon, Bear Canyon, and Catalina State Park are closed. Catalina Highway is closed to the public at milepost zero. Closures and maps are available at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/6741/.

Forest conditions: fs.usda.gov/alerts/coronado/alerts-notices  

The Bighorn Fire Video Update for July 7, 2020 with Operations Section Chief Buck Wickham is now available on the Bighorn Fire Info Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/bighornfireinfo/videos/1497975460390435/

The areas of the Mt Lemmon/Mt Bigelow, including the community of Summerhaven, and the Willow Canyon area, formerly set to “GO!” have been downgraded to "SET”. #Bighorn #BighornFire #AZFire

This is a combined message from the Pima County Office of Emergency Management and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department https://www.facebook.com/pimasheriff.

The areas of the Mt Lemmon/Mt Bigelow, including the community of Summerhaven, and the Willow Canyon area, formerly set to “GO!” have been downgraded to "SET”.

Summerhaven FULL TIME residents and employees will be allowed to return starting Tuesday, July 7th with the following restrictions:

· Residents and employees will be escorted by a Pima County Sheriff's Department patrol car in a convoy along Catalina Highway until further notice. The escorting vehicle will have its overhead lights on during the escort.

The daily schedule is:
8:00 am – Leaving milepost 0 for Willow Canyon
12:00 noon- Leaving Willow Canyon near milepost 16 for milepost 0

1:00 pm – Leaving milepost 0 for Willow Canyon
5:00 pm – Leaving Willow Canyon near milepost 16 for milepost 0

You must be at Willow Canyon at 12:00 noon or 5:00 pm in order to come back down the mountain with the mandatory escort.

· THE SCHEDULE MAY BE CHANGED DUE TO FIRE CONDITIONS.
· No stopping along the route for photos, etc.
· People may stay overnight or longer, and are free to travel from Willow Canyon to Summerhaven and within Summerhaven, but may not use Catalina Highway unless escorted.
· No hiking, walking, camping, or other activities are permitted in the forest.
· Violators will be escorted off the mountain and will not allowed to return until it is fully opened.
· Access for non-full time residents will be evaluated by the IMT over the next week.

The above restrictions are for your safety and the safety of the fire crews still on the mountain. Please drive carefully.

A community trash dumpster will be located in the parking area south of the Community Center. Please dispose of spoiled food in that container.

Please refer to the interactive map at http://bit.ly/PCBigHornFire for specific details.

Stay aware of the latest news and information from public safety and public health officials.

Questions from residents in the area should be directed to 351-FIRE (3473)

Bighorn Fire information can be found here: http://www.pima.gov/Bighorn

Fire specific Facebook page located here: facebook.com/bighornfireinfo

Find out more about the Ready, Set, Go program here: https://ein.az.gov/ready-set-go

Sign up for emergency alerts at myalerts.pima.gov and tell your neighbors about the program.

Bighorn Fire Morning Update, July 7, 2020

Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team 4

Carl Schwope, Incident Commander 

 

Bighorn Fire Info: (520) 329-7439, 8AM-8PM

Media Phone Line: (520) 329-7640, 8AM-8PM

Website: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6741/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bighornfireinfo

Smoke: wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/EasternArizona

Burned Area Response: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6796/

NWS Burn Scar www.weather.gov/twc/bighorn-burn-scar
 
 

Incident Statistics

Location:  Santa Catalina Mountains

Size:      119,020 acres

Containment:    75%

Date detected: June 5, 2020

Cause:  Lightning

Resources: 3 Hand Crews, 2 Dozers, 10 Engines, 4 Water-tenders,  4 Helicopters, 335 Personnel  
 
Highlights: A closure order remains in place on the Coronado National Forest for the area affected by the Bighorn Fire. Despite the increasing containment and reduced visual presence of the fire, Forest Supervisor Kerwin Dewberry reminds homeowners and recreationists that the closure is still in effect to allow for safe firefighting activities and to protect the public.

During the online community meeting last night, Pima County Sheriff’s Office released a statement that business owners, employees, and full-time residents are allowed to return to Summerhaven, with restrictions, starting on Tuesday, July 7. More details can be found at https://www.facebook.com/pimasheriff.

Weather: Slightly higher humidity levels will be present across the fire area today, with a range from 12 to 16% in the lower elevations, and 17 to 24% in the higher elevations. Temperatures will range from 101 to 106 degrees in the valley.

Yesterday’s Activity: Helicopters were used before noon to cool several hot spots in the Windy Point area; however, no increased activity was observed for the rest of the day. Suppression rehabilitation continued throughout several areas around the fire. Utility crews continued with damage assessments of utility poles.

Today’s Activity: Repair and rehabilitation of firelines will continue around the fire perimeter. Crews will utilize chippers in Catalina State Park to reduce brush and other vegetation created during fireline construction. Rehabilitation work will continue in the area surrounding Peppersauce Campground. Resources remain available to assist with initial attack of any new fire starts in the area.  As firefighters continue to secure and patrol firelines around Summerhaven, those residents permitted to return to the area are advised to drive with caution and watch out for crews working in the community. 

 
County Evacuation and Flood Information

PIMA    

Pima.gov/bighorn

 myalerts.pima.gov 

COCHISE             

cochise.az.gov/emergency

PINAL   

www.pinal.gov

pinalcountyaz.gov/emergencymanagement

A temporary flight restriction is in place over the fire area. If you fly, we can’t knowbeforeyoufly.org.

Closures: Cascabel Road at the Cochise County/Pima County line is now open. Sabino Canyon, Bear Canyon, and Catalina State Park are closed. Catalina Highway is closed to the public at milepost zero. Closures and maps are available at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/6741/.

Forest conditions: fs.usda.gov/alerts/coronado/alerts-notices  

The Bighorn Fire Video Update for July 6, 2020 with Operations Section Chief Buck Wickham is now available on the Bighorn Fire Info Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/bighornfireinfo/videos/895988470812060/

Bighorn Fire Morning Update, July 6, 2020

Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team 4

Carl Schwope, Incident Commander 

 

Bighorn Fire Info: (520) 329-7439, 8AM-8PM

Media Phone Line: (520) 329-7640, 8AM-8PM

Website: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6741/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bighornfireinfo

Smoke: wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/EasternArizona

Burned Area Response: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6796/

NWS Burn Scar www.weather.gov/twc/bighorn-burn-scar
 
 

Incident Statistics

Location:  Santa Catalina Mountains

Size:      119,020 acres

Containment:    75%

Date detected: June 5, 2020

Cause:  Lightning

Resources: 7 Hand Crews, 2 Dozers, 16 Engines, 5 Water-tenders,  4 Helicopters, 4426 Personnel  
 
Highlights: A virtual community meeting is being planned for tonight Monday, July 6 at 8:00 p.m. at https://www.facebook.com/bighornfireinfo/.
An American Sign Language interpreter and captioning will be provided. A recording will be posted following the meeting. No account is required to view the video. If a pop-up box appears when you first navigate to the link, you can use the scroll bar on the right to scroll down to the view and/or click “not now” to minimize the login pop-up. We will monitor online Facebook questions during the meeting, or you can email us your questions in advance at 2020.bighorn@firenet.gov.

Weather: Today will be mostly sunny other than a few afternoon clouds. Minimum humidity levels will range from 8 to 13% across the lower elevations and near 25% over the higher elevations. Temperatures will range from 101 to 107 degrees in the valley.

Yesterday’s Activity: Fire remains active in the areas south and west of Willow Canyon, and aviation assets were used to cool several areas that showed increased fire activity. Due to the extremely rugged terrain in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness and the lack of safety zones, fire managers have determined that it is unsafe for firefighters to make a direct attack on the fire in this area. Efforts are ongoing to keep the fire west of the Catalina Highway as it slowly moves south toward Windy Point. Suppression rehabilitation and repair, along with backhauling equipment, continued on the northern flank of the fire, with dozers and excavators repairing suppression lines and installing water bars to prevent erosion and slow water flow.

Today’s Activity: Firefighters will continue to secure and control fire line around Summerhaven. In the area surrounding the Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter, several hazard trees have been identified and sawyers will work to fell those trees today. Firefighters will continue to patrol the Sabino Canyon area as fire approaches slowly from the north. Helicopters will be utilized again today to drop buckets of water to cool hotspots near the southern flank of the fire, south of Willow Canyon. Backhaul and rehabilitation will continue for the next several days. Several crews and resources are demobilizing today due to successful firefighting efforts, and as rehabilitation activities are completed.

 
County Evacuation and Flood Information

PIMA    

Pima.gov/bighorn

 myalerts.pima.gov 

COCHISE             

cochise.az.gov/emergency

PINAL   

www.pinal.gov

pinalcountyaz.gov/emergencymanagement

A temporary flight restriction is in place over the fire area. If you fly, we can’t knowbeforeyoufly.org.

Closures: Cascabel Road at the Cochise County/Pima County line is now open. Sabino Canyon, Bear Canyon, and Catalina State Park are closed. Catalina Highway is closed to the public at milepost zero. Closures and maps are available at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/6741/.

Forest conditions: fs.usda.gov/alerts/coronado/alerts-notices  

Join fire managers for an online community meeting on Monday July 6, at 8:00 p.m. 

An American Sign Language interpreter and captioning will be provided. A recording will be posted following the meeting. No account is required to view the video. If a pop-up box appears when you first navigate to the link, you can use the scroll bar on the right to scroll down to the view and/or click “not now” to minimize the login pop-up.  https://www.facebook.com/bighornfireinfo/

We will monitor online Facebook questions during the meeting or you can e-mail us your questions in advance at 2020.bighorn@firenet.gov

The Bighorn Fire Video Update for July 5, 2020 with Operations Section Chief Buck Wickham is now available on the Bighorn Fire Info Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/bighornfireinfo/videos/324437852291072/.