Bighorn Fire- Arizona

Sierra National Forest hotshot crew members talk about wind patterns while preparing for a possible change in direction from the Bighorn Fire on Mount Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains in Ariz. on June 14, 2020.

 Rebecca Sasnett / Arizona Daily Star

The Bighorn Fire didn't grow much on Monday thanks to cloud cover and humidity, officials said. 

The lightning-sparked fire, which began June 5, had grown to about 15,000 acres and was 30% contained as of Monday evening, officials said. 

A column of fire was highly visible in the Romero Pass area southwest of Mt. Lemmon but the fire didn't move too much due to higher dew points and relative humidity, Travis Mabery of the Southwest Incident Management Team said in a Monday evening briefing. 

"We wish that, you know, we would see some moisture out of the clouds that we're seeing," Mabery said. "But we'll take what we can get in here today." 

Humidity recovery is expected to peak at 42% in the valley floor overnight Monday, helping temporarily slow the fire, the U.S. Forest Service said in an email update. 

"Crews are watching out for erratic winds, as dry thunderstorms are possible over the Santa Catalina Mountains," the Forest Service said. "Fire will likely reach Window Rock and Cathedral Rock and begin backing into the upper reaches of Esperero Canyon to the south."

Mabery said Pima County residents should expect to see a lot of movement around the edges of the fire as crews keep moving into the subdivisions to work on prevention in case the fire changes direction.

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Contact reporter Stephanie Casanova at scasanova@tucson.com. On Twitter: @CasanovaReports