Mt Lemmon Fire

Mt Lemmon Fire: History, Restrictions and How to Check Today

People searching for fire on Mt. Lemmon usually mean one of three very different things: the fires that burned the mountain in the past, the campfire restrictions in force right now, or whether something is burning this minute. This page covers all three, and keeps them separate, because mixing them up is how people arrive expecting to light a campfire on a day they cannot.

The short version of the history: this mountain has burned repeatedly, and the village at the top has been rebuilt more than once. Understanding that makes everything else about Mt. Lemmon - the young forest, the aspen stands, the fire rules, even how the hotel here came to be built - make more sense.

The Fires That Shaped Mt. Lemmon

Four fires over five decades explain the mountain's landscape, and you can still read them in the forest as you drive up. The lower slopes are thick with scrub and grass, much of it regrowth; the upper mountain holds the older conifers that survived or regrew.

Year	Fire	Size and effect
1977	A wildfire in Summerhaven	Destroyed historic buildings in the village.
2002	Bullock Fire	30,563 acres. Mount Lemmon was evacuated on May 26, 2002 and the fire was contained June 10.
2003	Aspen Fire	84,750 acres. Destroyed 333 structures and burned most of the Summerhaven community. The village was evacuated on the evening of June 17 and the fire was contained July 15.
2020	Bighorn Fire	119,987 acres, the largest of them all. Summerhaven and Mount Lemmon were evacuated on June 16. The highway and Sabino Canyon were closed for most of that summer.

What changed between them matters as much as the acreage. The 2003 Aspen Fire went through the village itself and took most of it. The 2020 Bighorn Fire was roughly half again as large and burned a far greater area of wilderness - but it largely spared buildings, and no lives were lost directly to it.

The Aspen Fire of 2003: The Year the Village Burned

If you want to understand why Summerhaven looks the way it does, start here. The Aspen Fire started on Mount Lemmon on June 17, 2003. The village was evacuated that same evening. It burned for almost a month before it was contained on July 15, and by then it had covered 84,750 acres and destroyed 333 structures - most of the community.

What stands at the top of the mountain today is, in the plainest sense, a rebuild. The general store, the restaurants, the cabins and the houses along the village roads were put back after 2003. That is worth knowing as a visitor, because it explains two things you will notice: why the village has a tidy, planned feel rather than an old mining-town jumble, and why locals talk about fire the way coastal towns talk about hurricanes.

The Bighorn Fire of 2020

The Bighorn Fire was started by a lightning strike at 9:46 PM on June 5, 2020, on the ridge just below Bighorn Mountain. It was named after the bighorn sheep that live on that ground. It burned for seven weeks, reached 119,987 acres - nearly 190 square miles of the Santa Catalinas - and was not fully out until July 23, when monsoon rain finally helped finish it.

The sequence that summer is worth spelling out, because people remember it wrongly. Evacuations began in the Catalina Foothills on the north side of Tucson, then moved through the Oro Valley area. On June 16, 2020, both Mount Lemmon and Summerhaven were ordered evacuated. The Catalina Highway and Sabino Canyon stayed closed for most of the summer. Seven people were injured and the suppression cost roughly $37 million.

Why it grew so large is its own lesson. Dry drought conditions and the invasive grass buffelgrass fed the early spread - buffelgrass has changed the fire behavior of much of southern Arizona, and it grows low and thick exactly where the fire started. Rough terrain and high heat kept crews off the ground. Illegal drone flights over the fire grounded the air tankers at points when they were most needed. And heavy winds on June 12, 14 and 17 pushed the fire across fire lines and roads.

The 2020 fire is also part of our own story. The Hafner family began building Mt. Lemmon Hotel in 2019. The Bighorn Fire shut construction down for six weeks, and reassembling the crews afterwards was a job in itself. The first cabins opened to guests in early 2021 - a rebuilt hotel on a mountain that had just burned again.

Photos of the Bighorn Fire

Fire Restrictions: What the Stages Actually Mean

Arizona uses a three-stage system, and the stages are set per land management area, so the restriction on Mt. Lemmon is the one that applies to federal land in the Coronado National Forest - not statewide rules and not city rules.

As of this writing, the Coronado National Forest shows no fire restrictions in effect, an alert that has stood since July 21, 2025 - while separately rating fire danger as Very High. That combination is the one that catches people out, so check both before you assume you can light a fire.

Stage	What it prohibits
Stage 1	No fire, campfire, charcoal, coal or wood stove outside a developed campsite or picnic area. Devices fueled by liquid petroleum or LPG that can be turned on and off are exempt. Smoking is restricted to enclosed vehicles or buildings, developed sites, or a cleared three-foot area. Fireworks and incendiary devices are prohibited, as is welding or any torch with an open flame.
Stage 2	Everything above, plus no fires even in developed campgrounds. Smoking only inside an enclosed vehicle or building. Discharging a firearm is prohibited - except during a lawful hunt. Internal combustion engine use is restricted, chainsaws are banned from 9 AM to 8 PM, and explosives are prohibited. LPG devices are allowed only in an area cleared of all flammable material within three feet.
Stage 3	Closure. The area is shut to public entry, and only permit holders and authorized personnel may be there.

Stages are set by the managing agency and they are lifted when conditions change, which is why a page like this one cannot give you a standing answer. The links in the conditions box above are the ones to check on the day.

Fire Safety on the Mountain

Mt. Lemmon is high, dry and windy, and the Mount Lemmon Fire District's own advice is worth repeating because most of it is not obvious from the driver's seat.

• Keep your tank above a quarter. There is no gas or fuel anywhere on the mountain. The fire district puts it plainly: arrive with well more than a quarter tank, because you may need to drive back down in a hurry.
• Drown your fire, then drown it again. If fires are permitted at all, bring enough water to put it out completely, not just to stop the flames.
• Skip the fire on a windy day. The fire district's advice is to consider not having one at all when the wind is up.
• Do not approach or feed wildlife. Keep them wild. Scavenging animals are a safety problem for you and a death sentence for them.
• No scented items in your tent. No food, no wrappers, no toiletries - anything with a smell belongs in the vehicle or a locker.
• Dress for the temperature swing. The difference between the desert floor and the top of the mountain can be more than 30 degrees, and it drops fast after dark.

One more habit worth building: note your nearest Catalina Highway mile marker whenever you stop. If you ever have to call in an emergency, that mile marker is the fastest and most accurate way to tell responders exactly where you are.

Mt Lemmon Fire FAQ

Is there a fire on Mt. Lemmon right now?

Check before you act on it. The Coronado National Forest posts current incidents and closures on its alerts page, and the Mount Lemmon Fire District posts local updates. If you are on the mountain and you see smoke or flames, call 911 and give the nearest Catalina Highway mile marker - do not drive toward it to look.

Are there fire restrictions on Mt. Lemmon today?

At the time of writing, no. The Coronado National Forest has had a no-restrictions alert standing since July 21, 2025, while separately rating fire danger as Very High. Restrictions are set per land area and lifted when conditions change, so check the forest's alerts page and the Arizona Interagency map on the day you plan to have a fire.

What caused the Bighorn Fire?

Lightning. A strike at 9:46 PM on June 5, 2020 started it on the ridge just below Bighorn Mountain, and it burned until July 23. Drought, the invasive grass buffelgrass, rough terrain and strong winds all drove the spread, and illegal drone flights grounded air tankers at points during the fight.

Did the Bighorn Fire burn Summerhaven?

Summerhaven was evacuated on June 16, 2020 and the Catalina Highway stayed closed for most of that summer, but the fire largely spared buildings in the village. It caused serious habitat damage across the Catalinas and affected air quality and runoff that year, but no lives were lost directly to it.

What burned Summerhaven in 2003?

The Aspen Fire. It started on Mount Lemmon on June 17, 2003, forced the village to evacuate that evening, and destroyed 333 structures across 84,750 acres before it was contained on July 15 - most of the community. The Summerhaven you see today was rebuilt afterwards.

Can I have a campfire on Mt. Lemmon?

It depends on the restriction stage in force. Under Stage 1 you can have a fire only in a developed campsite or picnic area. Under Stage 2 no open fires are allowed anywhere, though LPG stoves that can be turned on and off generally are. Always drown a fire completely, and skip it altogether on a windy day.

Related Mt Lemmon Guides

• Is Mt. Lemmon open today? - what actually closes, and where the winter gate sits
• Live Mt Lemmon webcams - what the village looks like right now
• Road conditions and visitor essentials - chains, fuel, parking and packing
• The complete history of Mt. Lemmon - the full timeline these fires sit inside