Wildfire — White Mountains of Graham and Greenlee Counties, Arizona

2021-06-16 to 2021-06-29 · White Mountains of Graham and Greenlee Counties, Arizona

Event narrative

The Horton Fire was the largest of four lightning caused that ignited on June 16 north of Hannagan Meadows in the White Mountains in Greenlee County. The four fires, driven by thunderstorm outflow wind gusts in excess of 40 mph at times, merged into an 11,000 acre fire by June 26 and grew to 12,263 acres by June 29. No fire growth was experienced after this date, but the fire was not officially contained until July 13. Fire suppression costs tallied $3.5 million.

Wider weather episode

The Horton Fire was the largest of four lightning caused fires that ignited on June 16 north of Hannagan Meadows in the White Mountains in Greenlee County. The four fires, driven by thunderstorm outflow wind gusts in excess of 40 mph on several days, merged into an 11,000 acre fire by June 26 and grew to 12,263 acres by June 29. No fire growth was experienced after this date, but the fire was not officially contained until July 13. Fire suppression costs tallied $3.5 million.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 967429. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.