Storms Monday that brought the monsoon season’s first measurable rain to Tucson also doused Mount Lemmon, helping firefighters in the area to further contain the Burro Fire.
The National Weather Service said Tucson International Airport on the south side, the city’s official site for weather measurements, received 0.09 of an inch of rain as of 7:30 p.m., its first of the summer.
Residents of other areas of Tucson posted on Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat Monday evening that they, too, were seeing their first rains of the year. Some storms brought high winds and heavy rainfall, with risks of localized flooding, the weather service said. There’s a 20 percent chance of showers in the metro area Tuesday and Wednesday.
The progress against the Burro Fire in the Santa Catalina Mountains, aided by the monsoons, allowed the reopening of the Mount Lemmon Highway Monday afternoon, but only to residents and those who work on the mountain.
Residents and workers need proper identification to be allowed up, said Deputy Cody Gress, a Pima County sheriff’s spokesman. Residents there were first evacuated July 3.
Redington Road also reopened Monday to all traffic, said Gress.
Crews have 65 percent of the Burro Fire contained, said Jay Lusher, an operations section chief with the fire’s management team. He spoke to an audience at a public meeting at Sahuaro High School.
Lusher said crews “saw no growth on the fire” and noted that more rain is expected.
On Sunday, portions of the mountain received up to 1.35 inches of rain, and on Monday Mount Lemmon was expected to receive up to 1.5 inches, said Kurt Van Speybroeck, the Burro Fire incident meteorologist.
“This really knocked the fire down,” said Speybroeck. He said flash flooding brought ash and rocks downstream, but the flooding was not too serious.
“We are in that monsoon pattern and can expect 30 to 40 percent chance of showers on the mountain every afternoon now through the monsoon season,” Speybroeck said.
Pima County Supervisor Steve Christy said Mount Lemmon residents and businesses received “the biggest relief” because they can get on with their lives. “Thank God we are back in business on Mount Lemmon,” he said.
Bea Day, fire incident commander, said she is confident the fire will “stay put and not move any further.”
“The fire has been getting moisture,” said Day, adding that she has no date when the general public will be allowed back on Mount Lemmon.
“We still have a lot of crews on the line up on the mountain,” she said.
The fire has burned more than 27,000 acres. The number of personnel fighting it, which had neared 700, has been cut to 638.
The fire broke out June 30 in the foothills of Redington Pass near Burro Tank. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
