Bighorn Fire 45% Contained, Blaze Covers 100,000+ Acres

TUCSON, AZ — The Bighorn Fire near Tucson spread beyond 100,000 acres this weekend, spurring new evacuation orders as firefighters continue to battle the blaze.

The fire, which began burning on the west end of the Santa Catalina Mountains after a lightning strike on June 5, has covered 107,183 acres and is 45 percent contained, officials reported Monday morning. Evacuation orders were extended to areas between Catalina Highway at milepost 3 Highway and Redding Road.

On Monday morning, incident commander Aaron Thompson said firefighters and aircraft were "extremely challenged" by high winds over the weekend.

Thompson said fire crews are now "looking for opportunities to limit the fire spread coming south" toward Tucson. More than 1,000 personnel are involved in the fire containment efforts.

Evacuation orders in some areas have been lifted, but residents are being encouraged to be careful and stay alert. The boundaries of the current areas under evacuation orders can bee seen the Bighorn Wildfire Alert Zones Map below; the map is also available on the Bighorn Fire web page maintained by Pima County's Office of Emergency Management.

Meanwhile, the massive Bush Fire north Phoenix, which covers more than 193,000 acres, is 98 percent contained, fire officials said.