Jamie Madden, left, guides Jacquelyn Callen through chainsaw technique as a Sonoita-Elgin Fire District crew clears trees and shrubs from a property in Sonoita. Last monthโ€™s rainfall didnโ€™t dampen the threat of wildfire for the areaโ€™s grasslands.

Southern Arizona wine country got 1.29 inches of rain in June, which was nearly double the historical average of .63 inch.

But it isnโ€™t enough to prevent the Sonoita/Elgin region from being one big tinderbox waiting for that one big lightning strike to spark a blaze.

And after a target shooter ignited last yearโ€™s Sawmill Fire in late April, folks in Sonoitaโ€™s wine country arenโ€™t taking any chances. They are clearing the brush from their vineyards and creating fire lines to keep any blaze from swallowing up their vineyards.

โ€œLast year was terrifying,โ€ said Shannon Zouzoulas, who owns Arizona Hops & Vines with her sister, Megan Haller. โ€œNothing makes us more nervous than fire season.โ€

The Sawmill gobbled up 40,000 acres and came too close for comfort to the vineyards dotting Sonoita and Elgin.

โ€œWe could have another Sawmill Fire this afternoon; our conditions are dry,โ€ said Sonoita Elgin Fire District Chief Joseph DeWolf. โ€œThe tall grass fuels are really dry. ... Until we get a lot of monsoon rain and the grass turns green, we are under threat.โ€

Which is why the fire district is looking for volunteers to help fill out its 24-7 roster. The department is the stateโ€™s largest โ€œcombinationโ€ fire department, comprised of a bakerโ€™s dozen of paid personnel and 54 volunteers. The volunteers often squeeze in short shifts between full-time paid jobs, which means the department has to have a big roster of volunteers to fulfill its round-the-clock firefighting mandate.

โ€œWe canโ€™t afford to pay all of our people and we canโ€™t afford to run without volunteers,โ€ DeWolf said, describing the volunteer positions as on-the-job training for would-be firefighters. Volunteers can work toward certifications that could help them land full-time jobs with fire agencies throughout the state.

Most of DeWolfโ€™s volunteers are from Tucson, he said.

Since late spring, there have been a few fairly insignificant brush and wildlands fires that have caused minimal damage. But DeWolf said the fire season has just begun.

The Sawmill Fire in April 2017 devoured 40,000 acres in the Sonoita-Elgin area, threatening of the areaโ€™s vinyards and homes. Efforts are underway to reduce brush.

The monsoon season could make its debut this weekend, as the chance for rain in Elgin/Sonoita slowly climbs daily from 7 percent on Wednesday, July 4, to 40 percent by Sunday, July 8, said National Weather Service meteorologist Rob Howlett.

โ€œEach thunderstorm has the possibility of generating heavy rainfall,โ€ said Howlettโ€™s colleague Gary Zell, who added that the chance of heavy rain is part of the nature of thunderstorms.

But forecasts and storm models are no guarantee, he said. So Arizona Hops & Vines and their neighbors along Highways 82 and 83 in Sonoita/Elgin are acting. They have already cleared paths of the free-flowing brittle grasslands that grow with abandon throughout the hilly, wind-swept area.

Zouzoulas said she mowed the grass around her 10-acre vineyard at 3450 Highway 82 to create a buffer, โ€œbut there is still fuel all around us.โ€

Kief Manning created 15- to 25-foot fire lines surrounding both of his Kief-Joshua Vineyards โ€” 20 acres at the vineyard at 370 Elgin Road and another 40 acres in Willcox. He is hoping the monsoon season, which officially started June 15 will actually materialize and provide some much needed rain.

โ€œSo far weโ€™ve been lucky; we havenโ€™t had any of the lightning storms that caused the issues last year,โ€ said Manning. โ€œWeโ€™re hoping for some green grass pretty soon.โ€


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Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com or 573-4642. On Twitter @Starburch