Wildfire — Galiuro and Pinaleno Mountains, Arizona

2017-06-07 to 2017-06-30 · Galiuro and Pinaleno Mountains, Arizona

Event narrative

Lightning sparked the Frye Fire on June 7th. The fire began to spread rapidly on June 19th as the result of strong winds from a thunderstorm outflow boundary. On that day, the Webb Peak Lookout Tower was damaged and the water chlorination shed at Old Columbine was destroyed. The observatory on Mount Graham was threatened but spared from the wildfire through suppression. By the end of June, the fire had consumed 42,755 acres but was only 45% contained.

Wider weather episode

The lightning caused Frye Fire ignited on June 7th along with dozens of other wildfires in southeast Arizona. The fire was actively managed for several days until a thunderstorm outflow boundary moved across the fire on June 19th causing it to rapidly increase in size to over 10,000 acres. The wildfire was eventually contained only after monsoon rains began in July. A total of 48,443 acres were consumed by the fire.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 709508. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.