Tucson Region

Alambre Fire grows to 4,000 acres, partial containment expected

The Alambre Fire has grown to about 4,000 acres, but fire fighting crews are getting close to partial containment and have been able to push the blaze one mile further south of the Kitt Peak National Observatory. "Its looking much better said Larry Raley, incident commander with the Eastern Arizona Incident management team." The north end of the fire is pretty well stopped." Officials expect to call the fire 10 to 15 percent contained by the end of the day, he said. The Alambre Fire, which is burning near the Kitt Peak National Observatory and a mountain held sacred to the Tohono O'odham Nation, spread on its south and west ends as crews battled near 100-degree temperatures and stiff winds. With no rain forecast until Wednesday, officials are concerned about the fire continuing to spread. Without rain we'll be still be putting line around it for a few days," Raley said. Kitt Peak is not presently threatened but vegetation is being cleared and a fire line is being cut between the fire and the peak, he said. "The fire is located in an area that's too steep, too dry and too rough to do a direct attack on it," said Jonetta Holt, a spokeswoman for the Eastern Arizona Incident Management Team on Sunday. For that reason firefighters are working with existing roads and other natural barriers to form a box around the fire and contain it. It's unclear how and where the fire started, but lightning was spotted in the area Saturday, she said. The road to Kitt Peak is closed to the public. Firefighters have been told where the sacred sites are in the Baboquivari Mountains and will not disturb them, but it's up to Tohono O'odham officials to have an action plan. Tribal officials said they do have a plan to make sure key areas are protected, but they did not provide more specific information. About 330 firefighters are battling the flames, with 299 of them working the line, Holt said.