These images show a spot fire on the south side of Carter Canyon on June 28. Next to it is a photo in the same area taken on July 3 showing the result of the 3-acre fire. The Bighorn Fire is keeping Summerhaven and the Willow Canyon area under evacuation orders.

 Courtesy Bighorn Fire information page, via Facebook.

With the Bighorn Fire 75% contained, fire crews are continuing to secure and control the fire line around Summerhaven, officials said Monday. 

A virtual community meeting is planned for Monday, July 6, at 8 p.m. at facebook.com/bighornfireinfo.

In the area surrounding the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter, several trees deemed hazardous will be taken down. 

Firefighters are also continuing to patrol the Sabino Canyon area as the fire approaches slowly from the north. 

Helicopters will be dropping buckets of water to cool hotspots near the southern flank of the fire, south of Willow Canyon, today. 

Firefighters on Sunday focused on repairing and cleaning up along the estimated 215 miles of fire line that was built to contain the Bighorn Fire, said Buck Wickham, operations section chief for the Southwest Area Incident Management Team.

The lightning-caused wildfire in the mountains north of Tucson has been burning since June 5. It has scorched 119,020 acres — about 186 square miles — according to a Monday morning update.

Most of the fire has been contained with fire lines around the perimeter, circling the Catalinas from the Foothills west near Oro Valley and north toward Oracle and back southeast toward Redington.

The only active fire remains south and west of Willow Canyon east of the Catalina Highway. The fire continues to slowly burn in that area, as firefighters work to make sure the fire stays west of the highway.

That active fire is keeping Summerhaven and the Willow Canyon area under evacuation orders.

“We would like to get the people back into their homes as soon as possible, as soon as it’s safe,” Wickham said Sunday.

The fire must be completely out and restoration work will need to be completed before residents will be able to return, Deputy James Allerton, a spokesman for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, said at a community meeting Friday night.

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