VIDEO: All eyes have been on the Bighorn Fire since it sparked on June 5.
But now, city and county leaders are preparing for what comes next — monsoon and flooding.
“This isn’t our first rodeo with a fire on the mountain,” said Oro Valley’s public works director and town engineer, Paul Keesler. “We’ve been following this since Day 1.”
Right now the town of Oro Valley is reviewing the effects that seasonal storms could create within the upstream watersheds due to the Bighorn Fire.
After flooding hit the town of Oro Valley in 2003 after the Aspen fire, Keesler said they’re trying to prepare for the rainfall by alerting residents.
“What that did is that taught us to be a lot more proactive on this so as soon as we started seeing the fire we were getting out the maps and do our analysis.”
A wildfire right before monsoon season is a big cause of concern.