New fire starts in Santa Ritas

Although summer rains quenched many of the area’s wildfires earlier this week, another has broken out on the northeast side of the Santa Rita Mountains, the U.S. Forest Service reported.

It’s called the Mulberry fire, because it occurred near Mount Fagan at the headwaters of the Mulberry Spring and intermittent Mulberry stream.

Lightning caused it, the Forest Service said Thursday.

A Forest Service news release issued Wednesday said it probably started Tuesday, but wasn’t reported until Wednesday afternoon.

No structures were threatened.

Two helicopters and an airplane were assigned to fight it, said the Forest Service.

The fire was about five miles south of Sahuarita Road and three and a half miles west of State Route 83.

Meanwhile, a heavy rain in the Tubac area Monday afternoon apparently quenched the White Tank and Nuevo fires just west of the village.

Smoke from them had filtered throughout the village on Interstate 19 and at night, flames in the Tumac‘cori mountains were easily visible throughout Tubac.

Those fires were believed started by humans, possibly by illegal aliens building campfires.

Tubac Fire Chief Kevin Keeley said Thursday afternoon, “You should have seen the firemen at the station cheering when the rain started.”

He said there was no equipment at the fire site, and that those fires were out cold.

jlamb@gvnews.com | 547-9749