A Chinook heavy-lift helicopter drops water on a ridge in Pima Canyon during the Bighorn Fire in the Santa Catalina Mountains in Coronado National Forest north of Tucson on June 8, 2020.

A Type 1 management team has assumed command of firefighting efforts in the 2,500-acre Bighorn Fire burning in the Catalina Mountains north of Tucson.

The team has more resources available to it and is typically assigned to complex firefighting situations, according to the Coronado National Forest.

The Bighorn Fire began Friday night in the Pusch Ridge area near Oro Valley by a lightning strike. It has steadily grown and moved primarily in a northeast direction up the mountain.

On Tuesday, the fire was burning in steep, rugged terrain within the Pusch Ridge Wildnerness. In the past 24 hours it had burned mostly in Alamo Canyon, on the northern face of the Catalina Mountains, and into the upper reached of Pima Canyon on the southern face.

The fire was about 10% contained as of Tuesday morning.

About 175 people are assigned to the fire. That includes hotshot crews, engines, water tenders and helicopters.

Catalina State Park is closed. Trails in the area will close without notice due to fire activity. The following trails are impacted by the fire: Romero Canyon, Pusch Peak, Pima Canyon, Finger Rock, Pontatoc, Pontatoc Ridge and Linda Vista.

You can view the entire closure from the order at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/closures/6741/.Β 


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