Tucson Region

Mt. Graham scientists conduct 'business as usual,' keep wary eye on fire

Scientists and staff at the Mount Graham International Observatory are poised to take action if the Nuttall Fire makes a run, but are otherwise conducting "business as usual," the observatory's director said today. Originally estimated at 300 acres, fire officials now size up the lightning-caused fire 6 miles west of the observatory at 150 acres, said Marylee Peterson, a fire information officer for the Coronado National Forest. About 140 firefighters are working the fire, which was first reported Saturday afternoon in the Pinaleno Mountains, about 75 miles northeast of Tucson, Peterson said. "We're battening down the hatches, preparing for emergency evacuations, taking all the precautions any prudent person would take, but this is not an urgent, imminent situation right now," said Buddy Powell, director of the observatory and associate director the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory. About 40 people are working atop the mountain, Powell said. Staff have made sure that the observatory's water tanks are full and have already set up sprinklers that would water down the forest surrounding the observatory's perimeter if necessary. Peterson said firefighters crews would attempt to surround the fire before thunderstorms blow in this afternoon. The forecast for the area currently calls for about 25 percent chance of rain in the Pinaleno Mountains, said meteorologist Tom Evans of the National Weather Service in Tucson. "Our biggest concern is for strong downbursts of wind from thunderstorms," Evans said. "If we do get any heavy rain out of it, I'd say it would be less than a third of an inch of rain." Winds are currently blowing out of the south and southeast from 5 to 12 mph in the area, Evans said. The fire is burning in an "extremely rugged area," forcing firefighters to resort to a tactic called "coyote camping," Peterson said. Instead of having a central point where they camp, they just move along the fire line as they work, because this is such a steep and inaccessible area, she said. - Contact reporter Thomas Stauffer at 573-4197 or at stauffer@azstarnet.com