Sawmill Fire a week later: Returning to where fire started - Tucson News Now

Even though crews have almost fully contained the Sawmill Fire on Sunday, April 30, federal forest officials are still limiting road access to where it first sparked east of Green Valley.

The area is located several miles north of the Madera Canyon Recreation area.

One of the barricades is placed near Madera Canyon and Whitehouse Canyon Roads which is about seven miles east of I-19 and the Continental Road exit.  
 
Yellow fliers posted by U.S. Department of Agriculture explain the purpose is for the “protection of public health and safety due to the Sawmill Fire.”

Friends Mary Vuke and Diane Harland couldn’t stop their curiosity. They drove down from Tucson to check out the damage and told Tucson News Now they were able to access the area where the fire started from a different road that wasn’t closed.
 
“Because I was concerned of the fire and wanted to know what it did to one of my favorite areas,” Vuke said.

Harland was surprised by what they discovered.

“We’re very encouraged by what we see, because we didn’t see any trees totally decimated,” Harland said. “It was fascinating to see some areas, the fire did jump the road and then see a house in the distance and to feel how those people must have felt.”
 
Signs around the area remind visitors that fire danger is still high.

Green Valley local, Jerry Wilson called on shooters to be careful in these dry conditions after learning the investigation involved an off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent recreationally shooting in the area.
 
Wilson told Tucson News Now it’s not unusual for people spend time recreationally shooting their guns in the desert.
 
“It’s not a problem if done safely,” Wilson said. “It’s been going on forever.”

MOBILE USERS: Download our app on your Apple and Android devices.

Copyright 2017 Tucson News Now. All rights reserved.