Flames from the Bighorn Fire will continue to be visible around the Ventana Canyon area today, but the area remains "secure," fire officials said in a morning update Tuesday.
The wildfire started by lightning on June 5 had grown to nearly 66,000 acres by Tuesday morning and officials said it was about 33% contained.
Crews today will focus on firming up fire lines and other operations around Summerhaven as well as the area north of Sabino Canyon, said Mike Goicoechea, incident commander for the Northern Rockies Incident Management Team.
Goicoechea said his team assumed oversight of the blaze Monday evening.
There are 988 people assigned to fight the fire and additional air support has been brought in to help, Goicoechea said.
"We'll have a lot of stuff working out there today," he said.
While a lot of activity will be visible in the Catalina Foothills near Ventana Canyon, Goicoechea said there are a lot of resources there and fire lines and other measures have been taken to keep the wildfire away from homes.
Firefighters will face the hottest day since the fire stated, but Goicoechea said the lack of wind will be helpful in their efforts against the wildfire.
Timelapse and compilation videos of the Bighorn Fire
Timelapse: Mount Lemmon Fire Department 2 2020-06-17
Timelapse:Β Mount Lemmon Fire Department 1 2020-06-18
Timelapse:Β Mount Lemmon Fire Department 2 2020-06-18
Timelapse:Β RadioRidge 5 2020-06-17