Tucson’s Bighorn Fire: Crews begin mopping-up today

PHOTOS: Nearly a month after lightning sparked the Bighorn Fire, crews on Thursday had moved into the mop-up stage. The wildfire started near Pusch Ridge on June 5 was at 118,710 acres — about 185 square miles — on Thursday morning. It was at 58 percent containment, according to an update posted on Facebook. Crews were expected to monitor, mop-up and begin removing equipment from the surrounding area today, according to an update in the Bighorn Fire Information Page on Facebook. Lower temperatures and increased humidity is expected to help the firefighting efforts today.
Tucson Arizona Daily Star

Blaze destroys Casa Grande area home, vehicles

PHOTOS: A family of five has been left homeless after a blaze destroyed a home and two vehicles south of Casa Grande Wednesday afternoon, authorities said. Regional Fire & Rescue responded to the structure fire about 1 p.m. off Chuichu Road. Regional Fire & Rescue Chief Steven Kerber said a single-wide mobile home and possibly two vehicles were destroyed by fire. Other agencies that responded were the Casa Grande Fire Department, Arizona City Fire District and Tohono O’odham Nation Fire Department. No one was home at the time of the blaze and no one was injured fighting it. Area Red Cross officials have been notified to assist a family of five who were displaced by the fire. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
Pinal Central

Wood Spring 2 Fire grows to 8,999 acres, expected to continue to spread

PHOTOS: As of July 1, the Wood Spring 2 Fire has grown to 8,999 acres. It is zero percent contained with 313 personnel. The fire was caused by lightning and is located three miles east of Wood Springs, Arizona. Over the last several days, the fire’s growth was driven by strong southwest winds. However, the contributing factors have shifted, and the fire continues to steadily grow because of dry fuels and steep topography. The fire is expected to display similar characteristics with increased rate of spread occurring in the late afternoon. The fire remains west of Route 7 and north of the KV powerlines where it intersects with Route 7. Reports of damaged structures have yet to be totaled and assessed to accurately confirm the extent of damages. Structure assessment will occur when the fire area is safe for firefighters to enter. On July 1, on the southwest side of the fire, crews will be using direct tactics to construct line from Lone Tule Wash and they are aiming to tie it into road N26.
Navajo-Hopi Observer

Fatal crash involving motorcycle on Tucson’s east side kills two

PHOTO: Two men died Tuesday evening in a crash involving a vehicle and a motorcycle on Tucson’s east side, police said. Around 6:30 p.m., Tucson police and firefighters responded to the intersection of East Speedway and North Van Buren Avenue, just east of North Craycroft Road, to reports of a crash involving a motorcycle, the Tucson Police Department said in a news release Wednesday. Both drivers were pronounced dead on scene, police said. The motorcyclist, Brandon Vincent Cleveland, 40, was riding a 2007 Suzuki eastbound on speedway at a high speed when he collided with a 2010 Chrysler 300 driven northbound on Van Buren by Abner Tovar Ortiz, 26 300 northbound on Van Buren. Excessive speed and failing to yield for a stop sign were factors in the crash, police said. Cleveland was wearing a helmet, and the motorcycle he was riding had been reported stolen, police said. Ortiz was not wearing a seat belt during the crash, police said.
Tucson Arizona Daily Star

Power pole falls on Tucson apartment building, transformer explosion sparks 2-alarm fire

PHOTO: Several people were displaced from their homes when a power pole fell on an apartment building, and an ensuing transformer explosion sparked a 2-alarm fire early on Wednesday, July 1. According to information from the Tucson Fire Department, the fire happened just before 1 a.m. in the 3400 block of East Lind Road, near East Fort Lowell Road and North Dodge Boulevard. No injuries or fire were reported in the original call of the fallen pole, so responding units were dispatched Code 2 - with no lights and sirens. Upon arrival, a transformer blew just after 1 a.m., sparking a quickly spreading fire. A full alarm was dispatched at 1:02 a.m. and a second alarm was dispatched at 1:29 a.m. Fifty-five firefighters had the fire under control in 89 minutes.
Tucson News Now

Bighorn Fire spreads near Tucson, grows past 118,000 acres

Crews working the Bighorn Fire burning near Tucson hope the forecast for less wind and more humidity will help their efforts Wednesday. Firefighters worked on protecting structures between Summerhaven and Willow Canyon, according to InciWeb. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department issued evacuation orders Tuesday for the area around Redington Road. The fire has claimed 118,370 acres in the Catalina Mountains, but was 54% contained early Wednesday. No homes have been lost in the second-largest fire burning in the United States. The blaze is the eight-largest in Arizona history. About 1,000 firefighters and support crew are working the fire in the Coronado National Forest with the help of dozens of engines, several bulldozers and a fleet of helicopters.
KTAR 620 - Newsradio

Prescott Fire Department responds to 3 water rescue calls at Watson Lake

5 adults, 2 children, and 2 dogs were rescued.from Watson Lake. The Prescott Fire Department.was dispatched to 3 separate water rescue calls at Watson Lake on June 29, 2020 within a span of 5 hours. In total, 5 adults, 2 children, and 2 dogs were rescued. 2 incidents occurred after boaters were blown by very high winds to the north end of the lake and not able to return to their starting points. In another incident a kayaker flipped their boat due to high winds and waves and the kayak rapidly blew away from them. The kayaker says that after panicking for a while, they were able to make it to a shallow spot in the middle of the lake and wait for rescue in waist high water. All rescue victims were wearing personal flotation devices which prevented any loss of life or injury. In each instance, Prescott Fire Departments Boat 74 was used to retrieve those in need.
Prescott eNews

Arizona reports record highs of 4,878 new coronavirus cases, 88 deaths

The Arizona health department reported single-day records of 4,878 new coronavirus cases and 88 deaths Wednesday morning. That brings the state’s documented totals to 84,092 COVID-19 cases and 1,720 fatalities. The previous single-day highs were 4,682 on Tuesday and 79 deaths from June 24. However, both of those figures were inflated because they included older data that hadn’t previously been accounted for in the stat reports. Wednesday’s report came with no such caveat. The Arizona Department of Health Services has been providing case and testing updates on its website each morning. The dashboard includes, among other information, testing trends, updated hospital capacity and a ZIP code map of cases. The daily reports present data after the state receives statistics and compiles them, which can lag by several days. They aren’t meant to represent the actual activity over the past 24 hours.
KTAR News

Expansion of Kingman fire station underway

One contractor is remodeling and expanding Kingman Fire Station 2 and another is building training structures on the same two-acre parcel at 1605 Harrison St. T.R. Orr Incorporated is remodeling the 3,300-square-foot structure and building additional space on the east and west ends of the building. “On the Andy Devine Avenue side there is an additional apparatus bay. That adds another 1,000 square feet. Part of that area, about 600 square feet, will be dedicated for a gymnasium that we’ve never had at that station,” said Assistant Chief Keith Eaton. He said about 2,600 square feet of space is being added on the west side of the existing building, and will house up to six firefighters and a battalion chief. Plans to build a new fire station for $4.5 million were scuttled after voters repealed part of the Transaction Privilege Tax in 2018.
Mohave Valley Daily News