I've photographed and written about it many times. You can see pictures of it when it wasn't on fire here, here, here, here, and here.
Oh, and here, when it had a rare covering of snow on it.
It is currently on fire.
They are calling it the Bighorn Fire, presumably after the Bighorn Sheep that roam the range. It was started by a lightning strike and has so far burned 37,028 acres and is 21 percent contained.
The Santa Catalina Mountains - we just call them the Catalinas - is the most prominent range in the Tucson area with the highest elevation, at 9,157 feet above sea level.
We were on the road when we heard about the fire. Although we are close to the area, our house was in no danger. And we weren't required to evacuate. Yet communities just a few miles from us were asked to evacuate their homes because the fire was getting too close for comfort. They didn't want to wait until the last minute to get people out.
We arrived back at our house at 2:30 in the morning. We could see the orange brightness of the flames from Interstate-10, at least 9 miles from our house. I saw fire on the very top of the mountain and on Pusch Ridge, a little to the north of the peak on our side.
These photos were taken this week. I noticed the giant plume of smoke when I left to go to the store. It was massive. Because it seems to be on the backside of the mountain there isn't as much smoke smell in the air. The night we got home the entire neighborhood smelled like a giant campfire.
We saw helicopters a few days ago hauling giant buckets of water to the fire and before we arrived home planes spread fire retardant on the mountain, which is now visible in red streaks across the landscape.
In the more than 35 years that I've lived here, I've never seen anything like this happen. It's an incredible sight, really. We have a close-up view of the result of what Mother Nature can do with just the crack of a lightning bolt.
See more spectacular images HERE.
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2019: Celebrating The Dads
2018: Pastoral
2017: Dune Crawl
2016: The Closest I Get To Camping
2015: This Guy Rocks It, Man
2014: Pillows Of Deliciousness
2013: Staring Me Down On Dad's Day
2012: Load Check
2011: Hotel Special Effects In An Instant
2010: The Great American Shoe Hunt
2009: The First Glimpse Of The People’s Coast
2008: Ohhhh, So This Is How It Works
2007: Can You Hear Me Stereotyping Now?
2006: In The Kitchen With Eddie
2005: Top Ten