Bighorn Fire
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The Bighorn Fire was a
wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
in the
Santa Catalina Mountains The Santa Catalina Mountains, commonly referred to as the Catalina Mountains or the Catalinas, are north and northeast of Tucson in Arizona, United States, on Tucson's north perimeter. The mountain range is the most prominent in the Tucson area, w ...
north of
Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
. It burned until it was finally put out on July 23, 2020. A
lightning strike A lightning strike or lightning bolt is a lightning event in which an electric discharge takes place between the atmosphere and the ground. Most originate in a cumulonimbus cloud and terminate on the ground, called cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning ...
from a storm at 9:46 PM on June 5, 2020 caused the fire. The fire was named after the
bighorn sheep The bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') is a species of Ovis, sheep native to North America. It is named for its large Horn (anatomy), horns. A pair of horns may weigh up to ; the sheep typically weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates th ...
that inhabit the area. The fire threatened hundreds of homes and multiple evacuations occurred. The first evacuations occurred in the Catalina Foothills neighborhood in Northern Tucson. The following day, residents in the
Oro Valley Oro Valley, incorporated in 1974, is a suburban town located north of Tucson, Arizona, United States, in Pima County. According to the 2020 census, the population of the town is 47,070, an increase from 29,700 in 2000. Dubbed the "Upscale Tech ...
section of the Catalina Foothills were ordered to evacuate. On June 16,
Mount Lemmon Mount Lemmon, with a summit elevation of , is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. Mount Lemmon was named for botany, botanist Sara Plummer Lemm ...
and
Summerhaven Summerhaven is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) on Mount Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mountains north of Tucson in Pima County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a permanent population of ...
were evacuated. The length of the burn was attributed to rough mountainous terrain and inaccessibility. Additionally, the dry hot weather of the area made it even more difficult to fight the fire. The first storms of Tucson’s monsoon season are credited with helping emergency crews get the fire under control and to eventually put it out.


Ignition

The wildfire began with a lightning strike on June 5, 2020, which was caught on film by a local storm chaser. The location was just below Bighorn Mountain, commonly conflated with nearby
Pusch Ridge Pusch Ridge is the most prominent feature in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness Area of the Santa Catalina Mountains, managed by the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. History Pusch Ridge was named after pioneer Geo ...
by the public.


Exacerbating Conditions

Because of new protocols to protect firefighting crews from Covid-19, the U.S. Forest Service modified its fire management approach to a "full suppression" effort for all fires, similar to pre-1972 strategies. Despite these efforts for immediate full suppression, the fire spread largely uncontained, encouraged by several factors. The initial fire was partially fueled by invasive grass species including Buffelgrass, known for changing the
fire ecology Fire ecology is a scientific discipline concerned with the effects of fire on natural ecosystems. Many ecosystems, particularly prairie, savanna, chaparral and coniferous forests, have evolved with fire as an essential contributor to habitat vit ...
of much of Southern Arizona and the Western United states. The early efforts to control the fire with aircraft (air tankers and helicopters) were impeded by illegal use of drones by the public, resulting in lost opportunities to suppress the fire. Rugged terrain and high temperatures reduced the ability of firefighters to safely work against the fire. High winds, especially on June 12, 14, and 17th, accelerated the fire and pushed it over fire lines and roads. Dry conditions, drought, and delayed summer rains also contributed to drier fuels and heightened fire activity.


References

{{Arizona wildfires 2020 Arizona wildfires Santa Catalina Mountains Wildfires in Pima County, Arizona