Ready Set Go

Unseasonably hot and dry conditions continue to keep Arizona firefighters busy. The Bumble Bee Fire burning west of Interstate 17(I-17), started Friday morning in the eastern foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains north of Phoenix and quickly grew to over 2,000 acres threatening the community of Bumble Bee to its east and putting the communities of Cleator and Crown King to its northwest on alert. Firefighters on the ground were assisted by airtankers and helicopters consistently throughout the day.

Redington Road remains closed. A closure order remains in place on the Coronado National Forest for the areas affected by the Bighorn Fire.

Increasing clouds with a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and early evening. Temperatures will be 70 to 78 at upper elevations and 93 to 96 on the valley floor.

Temperatures will be 70 to 78 degrees at upper elevation and 94 to 97 on the valley floor.  Winds will be lighter today 10-15 mph. Along the southern perimeter, the line has been contained east to Rattlesnake Canyon. Firefighters focused on structure protection between Summerhaven and Willow Canyon. Crews held and improved the perimeter of the 3-acre spot fire near Radio Ridge. Sections of the perimeter were plumbed with pumps and hoses.  The fire continued to back south down Green Mountain.

Weather will be hot, dry and windy again today. Expect active fire behavior.

The fire was very active and driven to the north and east by the strong and gusty southwest winds. Maximum wind speeds of 54 mph were observed on Radio Ridge. An indirect dozer line was constructed around the spot fire near the radio towers and protected structures close to the spot fire. Structure protection crews worked in the Summerhaven area. Crews continued improving fireline along the Catalina Highway south of Green Mountain. Along the fire’s eastern edge, gusty winds forced helicopters to be grounded at midafternoon.

A red flag warning is in effect from noon to 8 p.m. today. Winds will gust to 40 mph and active fire behavior is expected today.

Pima County Sheriff's Department announced a new Go! evacuation order. The evacuation zone is the southern Catalinas bordered by Mt. Lemmon Highway beginning at mile post 3 on the west and by Redington Road on the east. The northern and southern boundaries do not follow any specific road. Please refer to the interactive map at http://bit.ly/PCBigHornFire for specific details.

UPDATE at 11:10 a.m., 6/28/20: 

Portions of east Golder Ranch area and the Catalina Foothills areas east of Kolb Road within northern areas of Ventana Canyon neighborhoods were downgraded from SET to READY.

A red flag warning is in effect today and Monday. Southwest winds gusting to 35 mph will increase fire behavior today. 

A fire weather watch is in effect through Monday. There is a thunderstorm threat early this evening. Minimum temps will be 56 to 61 degrees in upper elevations and 67 to 73 at the valley floor.