BURRO FIRE: Holds at 27,238 acres, is 95 percent contained

Published: Jun. 30, 2017 at 3:16 PM MST|Updated: Jul. 13, 2017 at 8:45 AM MST
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Burro Fire perimeter as of July 13. (Source: Twitter)
Burro Fire perimeter as of July 13. (Source: Twitter)
Helicopter flies over Burro Fire, July 7. (Source: Burro Fire facebook)
Helicopter flies over Burro Fire, July 7. (Source: Burro Fire facebook)
The Burro Fire burns in the Santa Catalinas on July 5. (Source: InciWeb)
The Burro Fire burns in the Santa Catalinas on July 5. (Source: InciWeb)
The Burro Fire perimeter (in red) is shown with those of two other major fires that burned in...
The Burro Fire perimeter (in red) is shown with those of two other major fires that burned in the Catalinas in recent years. (Source: Google Earth)

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - The estimated size of the Burro Fire has remained at 27,238 acres, as of 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 12, but is now at 95 percent contained.

According to the incident management team, this is the third straight day that the fire failed to increase its size.

Fire crews are beginning to demobilize, and a local Type 3 Team is expected to take over the management of the fire from a Type 1 Team on Thursday, July 13.

Catalina Highway is expected to open to the general public on Friday, July 14, officials said. It opened to residents and employees on Monday, July 10. Proof of residency will be required to access Mt. Lemmon. The Pima County Sheriff's Department has a list of employees of Mt. Lemmon businesses that are authorized to access the mountain.

Mt. Lemmon received 2 3/4 to 3 inches of rain on Monday and Tuesday, and more rain is forecast for the area.

Two firefighters were hurt while battling the wildfire on the eastern slopes of the Santa Catalina Mountains.

According to fire officials, one crew member had an eye injury, the other had a sinus infection. No further information about the injuries was made available.

There are now only 160 people assigned to the fire. The cost as of July 7 had reached $4.6 million.

InciWeb said the fire was reported near Redington Road's Milepost 7 on the morning of June 30. It is burning in brush and tall grass and in Ponderosa pine and mixed conifer at higher elevations.

A Type 1 Incident Management Team was assigned to take command of the fire on Sunday, July 2.

A temporary flight restriction was issued in the area over the fire, according to the U.S. Forest Service. This restriction includes drones.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

CLOSURES

Catalina Highway remains closed to the general public at Milemarker 0.

The Control Road is closed from Oracle to Mt. Lemmon.

The US Forest Service issued the following temporary area and road closure on July 3:

All National Forest System lands, roads and trails north of and including Redington Pass [sic] Road (NFS 371), east of and including Mt. Lemmon Highway (NFS Rd 833) to the Arizona National Scenic Trail, north of the Arizona National Scenic Trail and Romero Canyon to the Catalina State Park boundary, east of the Catalina State Park boundary and western Forest boundary, south of the Pima/Pinal County line and west of the eastern Forest Boundary.. The closure area includes National Forest System lands located within Tl IS, Rl4E; Tl lS, R15E; Tl lS, Rl6E; Tl IS, Rl7E; Tl2S, Rl4E; T12S, Rl5E; Tl2S, R16E; T12S, R17E; Tl3S. Rl5E; Tl3S, Rl6E, and TBS, Rl7E.

To read the entire closure, click HERE.

Pima County road hotline: 520-547-7510 (recorded information)

FIRE INFORMATION

InciWeb

Facebook/BurroFireInfo

Twitter

PHONE: Public information phone lines have been established for the Burro Fire. Please call (6 a.m. to 10 p.m.) 928-351-7537, 928-351-7265, or 928-362-0998 for additional information.

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