Wildfire in Tucson's Catalina Mountains grows to 1,000 acres

The wildfire which began on Mount Lemmon on Thursday afternoon has quickly grown to about 1,000 acres, the Coronado National Forest Service said Friday morning.

In a Facebook post, the agency said the wildfire dubbed "Molino 3" began Thursday afternoon and quickly grew to about 50 acres by the end of the night.

Initial hopes that the area's relative humidity overnight Thursday would play a part in dampening the wildfire proved to be false. Instead, higher-than-anticipated temperatures through the night increased the fire's activity, officials say.

No containment has been made on the fire as of Friday morning, nor has forward progress been stopped, the Forest Service said.

"Crews spent the morning hiking into the areas across the rough and rugged terrain," the Forest Service said Friday morning. "They will focus their work along the northwestern and western flanks as the fire continues to creep toward the burn scar from the Molino 1 and 2 fires."

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Air crews have been requested and are "en route to the fire," officials said.

Catalina Highway remained open Friday. However, the public is being asked to avoid the area, and for those who travel the highway to be aware of increased traffic due to firefighting efforts.

Smoke from the fire is visible from Tucson. Residents and visitors around the wildfire area are encouraged to visit the Fire and Smoke map for real-time smoke conditions.