Thursday, June 18, 2020
Bighorn Fire Evacuation Ordered for Lower Mount Lemmon, Oracle Areas
As the Bighorn Fire continues to burn across the Santa Catalina Mountains, residents in two new areas have been warned to evacuate.
The Pima County Sheriff's Department has told residents in the lower Catalina Highway and lower Mount Lemmon communities from Organization Ridge Road to South Willow Canyon to leave their homes, while the Pinal County Sheriff's Department has ordered the evacuation of Peppersauce Canyon to Highjinks Road in the Oracle area.
Residents should evacuate immediately to a shelter or with family or friends outside of the affected area. The Red Cross has set up evacuation centers at Canyon del Oro High School and Sahuaro High School. Large animal sheltering is available at the Pinal County Fairgrounds and Rillito Racetrack.
Much of the rest of Oracle has now also been advised to be ready to evacuate.
More than 800 personnel are working on the Bighorn Fire, and 400 firefighters worked on the ground to protect Summerhaven last night.
The areas of Summerhaven and Mount Lemmon remain under an evacuation order. The Catalina Foothills and areas of Oro Valley east of Oracle Road and north of Magee have been downgraded from "set" to "ready" to evacuate under the state's Ready, Set, Go system.
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