A human-caused wildfire in the Coronado National Forest was 80% contained Wednesday afternoon and βresourcesβ fighting the Molino Fire have been released to battle fires elsewhere, forest officials say.
The fire burned through a total of 540 acres of grass and mesquite brush in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness.
It started about 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
More than 400 acres were burned by Monday afternoon, aided by winds of up to 20 mph in the area.
The fire prompted the evacuation of the Molino Basin Campground. The site remains closed until Saturday, Nov. 2.
Crews were staged at the campground due to the fire being in deep, rugged terrain.
Catalina Highway, the road up to Mount Lemmon, was reopened Monday afternoon.
A crew of about 70 people from the Forest Service, local fire departments and the National Park Service, worked to keep the blaze from reaching the road or threatening structures, said Brandalyn Vonk, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Forest Service. Six people remain to monitor the fire, officials said.
Investigators have yet to determine what started the fire.
