Wildfire burning in Tucson's Ventana Canyon area

A wildfire burning in the Ventana Canyon area grew to about 50 acres by Tuesday afternoon, Coronado National Forest Service officials said. The wildfire started before 4 a.m., possibly from a lightning strike, and smoke could be seen across much of the Tucson area throughout the day. Crews were using helicopters to drop buckets of water on the fire as well as aircraft to dump fire retardant. The fire was burning in an area recovering from the 2020 Bighorn Fire.

A wildfire north of Tucson and two more in Cochise County are under control, according to state forestry officials.

Both the Post Fire and the Wildhorse Fire, two separate wildfires in Cochise County, were caused by human activity, the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management determined.

Progress on both fires over the past few days has resulted in near-total containment of both fires, officials say.

The Wildhorse Fire, a complex of three fires that originated near Hereford, approximately 10 miles south of Sierra Vista, was declared 100% contained at 747 acres.

The Post Fire, located about seven miles southwest of Benson was 95% at 921 acres, officials said.

Resources are now being released from the incident and redirected to staging areas due to the potential for new fires in the region in the coming days.

The Ventana Fire, which ignited on June 20, grew to a size of 133 acres and is now 80% contained, according to the Coronado National Forest.

The cause of fire that wildfire remains under investigation, but officials have noted lightning in the area when the fire started.

All trailheads and trails that were previously restricted during the fire have reopened to the public.

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Eddie Celaya is a breaking news reporter and host of the β€œHere Weed Go!” podcast. He graduated from Pima Community College and the University of Arizona and has been with the Arizona Daily Star since May 2019.