by 
Photo of the Burro Fire as of Sunday night, July 2, 2017. Photo courtesy of Apuron Photography
Burro Fire 11 Percent Containment
July 5, 2017, Evening Update
Acreage: 24,547 acres (estimated) Percentage of Containment: 11%
Date Reported: June 30, 2017 Cause of Fire: Under Investigation
Resources: 688 personal including 16 crews, 47 engines, 27 water tenders, 1 bulldozer, and 8 helicopters
Fuel Type: Tall Grass and Brush, with Ponderosa Pine and Mixed Conifer at higher elevations
Origin Location: In the foothills of Redington Pass near Burro Tank
Fire burning on: Coronado National Forest, Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management, and Private Lands
An Equal Access Community Meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, July 6, 2017, at the Sahuaro High School, 545 N. Camino Seco, Tucson, AZ 85710. American Sign Language (ASL) and Communication Access Real-Time Translation (CART) captioning will be provided. The meeting will be live streamed on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BurroFireInfo/
Today, firefighters strengthened control lines along the Redington Pass Road and after cold trailing and mop up of the line, declared that this section of fire perimeter is now contained. Tonight, engines will patrol the area and extinguish hot spots as needed. No additional fire growth is expected in this area.
Prep work along the Catalina Highway is nearing completion. Fire crews have reinforced Firewise mitigations put in place by residents and have set up contingency fire lines as a defensive measure. Crews are prepared to initiate burning operations in front of the fire, should it move westward, threatening structures and other values at risk.
Tonight crews will be patrolling the south eastern perimeter of the fire. Winds are predominately coming from the southeast, pushing the fire back onto itself.
The northeastern side of the fire will be monitored through the night. Incident Fire Behavior Analysts do not anticipate any substantial fire spread in this area over night.
The most active fire behavior on the Burro Fire was observed on the northwestern perimeter. In this section the fire has dropped into canyons where the vegetation is predominantly grass and scrub. Helicopters and fixed wing aircraft were used to impede the fires progress. Under current weather conditions, these canyons are in alignment with the wind, so that fire has the ability to move quickly through the light flashy fuels.
Temperatures are forecast to reach record levels across southeastern Arizona with Excessive Heat Warnings in effect across the Burro Fire for Thursday and Friday. Storms will likely develop over the mountain peaks near the fire perimeter, generating cloud to ground lightning strikes during the afternoon and evening hours. The storms are expected to generate little rain, however they will produce gusty outflow winds. Upper high level pressure is forecast to remain over the Four Corners region. This should allow for an easterly/southeasterly air flow across southern Arizona by Saturday. This change will likely allow for an increase in moisture (and afternoon thunderstorms with increasing rainfall each day) associated with the monsoon.
Evacuation Orders Remains in Effect for residents along the Catalina Highway from Mile Marker 0, north including Summerhaven.
Road Closures Remain in Effect. Catalina Highway/Mount Lemmon Highway is closed from Mile Marker 0, north to Mt. Lemmon. The Redington Pass Road is closed between Mile Marker 2 and 14. The Control Road is closed from Oracle to Mt. Lemmon.
The Coronado National Forest has implemented a closure for the Burro Fire area from Redington Pass Road and the Arizona National Scenic Trail north including Catalina Highway and the Control Road to the Pima/Pinal County line.
Stage 2 Fire Restrictions are in Effect in across Southeast Arizona. Visit http://firerestrictions.us/az for details.
Wildfires are a No Drone Zone. If you fly, we can’t. More Info: Visit Know Before You Fly, http://knowbeforeyoufly.org.
Burro Fire Information Phone Lines: 928-351-7537, 928-351-7265, 928-362-0998 (6 am to 10 pm)
For maps, photos, closures, evacuations and road status visit Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5301
Arizona Emergency Information: http://azein.gov
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BurroFireInfo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/burrofireinfo
Pima County Office of Emergency Management Evacuation Info: 520-724-9301 https://facebook.com/pcoem
Pima County Sheriff’s Department Road Closure Information: 520-547-7510 https://www.pimasheriff.org
There are news or informational items frequently written by staff or submitted to the Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner, Superior Sun, Pinal Nugget or Oracle Towne Crier for inclusion in our print or digital products. These items are not credited with an author.
by by