Drought in Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona

Extreme drought (D3) category continued across eastern Santa Cruz and southern Cochise counties including the Huachuca and Mule Mountains through June. Two wildfires ignited in dry fuels in the middle of the month. The Raspberry fire in the Chiricahua Mountains and the Tonto Canyon fire in western Santa Cruz County were both extinguished later in the month, in part due to two to three inches of rainfall. The late June rain was enough to reduce both areas, along with the Dragoon Mountains, to the severe drought (D2) category toward the end of June. Soil moisture readings improved to just above the 30th percentile across the area.