Officials with the Coronado National Forest say that Pima County is in the heart of wildfire season.
Over the weekend, three fires ignited in the mountain ranges surrounding Tucson: one in the Rincon Mountains and two in the Santa Catalina mountains.
Lightning strikes on Sunday
The Table Mountain Fire is burning in Pima Canyon in the Catalinas and grew six acres over the course of Monday night due to diurnal winds.
An ignited tree also fell over night, spreading the fire.
As of Tuesday morning, the fire reached 15 acres in size and is zero percent contained.
The Coronado National Forest reported the temporary closure of Rose Canyon Lake on Tuesday, to support firefighting efforts, but trails and campgrounds remain open.
About 30 firefighters have continued to build containment lines while managing the interior hot spots.
The area is also under Temporary Flight Restrictions which means aircraft including drones are not allowed to operate.
Starr Farrell with the Forest Service says the Ventana Fire which is on the southeastern side of Mount Kimball, is relatively small.
Officials believe that the two fires were caused by lightning on Sunday.
An infrared flight was completed on Monday afternoon, over the top of the Catalinas to evaluate potential heat sources.
“When we looked at Ventana, there was no residual heat so the rains that came in completely put out that fire. For the Table Mountain Fire, there is small interior pockets of heat and our rappellers are going to be looking at that and assessing if they need to go down and do mop up procedures but because of the rough and rugged terrain, they will not be able to hike in. They would need to be placed there by helicopter,” Farrell said.
Farrell says the fires are not close to human-built structures or natural resources and that the number of people responding to the flames will depend on the fires’ progress.
There have been 18 fires in the Coronado National Forest so far this year – seven due to undetermined causes, seven human-caused fires and four naturally caused fires.
In 2025, a total of 51 fires were reported – 24 due to natural causes, 20 caused by humans and seven that were undetermined.
Smoke reported on Saturday
The Box Fire started early on Saturday morning, in a remote area of Saguaro National Park East in Box Canyon, just west of Juniper Basin.
Firefighters had the wildfire that broke out in the Rincon Mountains 95% contained as of Monday afternoon.
Beth Hudick with the park says firefighting crews were able to respond right away.
“91 personnel attached to the fire and they’ve made really good progress over the weekend. So at this moment in time, the forward progress on the fire has stopped,” Hudick said.
The cause of that fire is still unknown.
Saguaro National Park reported the temporary closure of the Tanque Verde Ridge Trail, Loma Alta Trailhead, X9 Ranch access routes and Juniper Basin and Grass Shack backcountry campgrounds.
Hudick said that it’s been a few years since there was a large wildfire reported in the park.
Park officials are also asking that people keep drones away from any fire activity because they prevent air support from flying, leading to a delayed response.
“If you fly, we can’t,” Hudick said, noting that there were a few drones reported in the area of the wildfire.
National Park Service policy prohibits the use of UAVs, or drones in national parks for the most part.
Forest Service policy prohibits use of drones in wilderness areas, where Sunday’s two fires started.
Currently no fire restrictions in the Coronado National Forest
Farrell says the Coronado National Forest is not currently under any sort of restriction.
“A lot of that comes down to the fact that people down here in Southeast Arizona do a great job making sure their chains are pulled up, they’re not leaving a campfire lit and that they aren’t throwing anything that creates a spark out of their window, so that really helps us not have to go into restrictions,” Farrell said.
Additionally, Monday marked the beginning of Southern Arizona’s monsoon, adding extra moisture and higher humidity to the air, reducing the chances of wildfires spreading.
