Flames from the Bighorn Fire rise over a ridge near Esperero Canyon as the blaze moves east on the southern slopes of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Tucson, Ariz., June 23, 2020.

 Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star

Crews are making good progress in fighting the Bighorn Fire north of Tucson, protecting homes in Summerhaven as well as the SaddleBrooke area, officials said in a Thursday morning briefing.

"Everything so far is looking really good," Aaron Thompson, incident commander for the Northern Rockies Incident Management Team, said in the morning update. "Firefighters had a great day yesterday."

UPDATES: Bighorn Fire near Tucson, July 3: Here's what we know

Thompson couched the upbeat progress report slightly by noting that crews face another hot day in which wind could be more of a factor in controlling the blaze ignited by lightning on June 5.

He said crews are using burnouts and fire lines near Summerhaven to create a "green island" to protect structures. He said returning residents will likely see green vegetation surrounding homes and buildings in Summerhaven that are surrounded by black, burned forest that likely were deliberately set on fire.

The wildfire has grown to nearly 82,000 acres and was 33 percent contained Thursday morning. More than 1,000 people are fighting the fire.

Crews will continue burnouts on the north end of the fire, creating a lot of smoke today and this evening around the community of SaddleBrooke, Thompson said.

β€œThat burnout is on our terms," he said. "It's something we've prepared and are implementing."

He said the fire line above Tucson's Catalina Foothills are still containing the fire, but that crews continue to monitor the area and are ready to respond if that changes.

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