A new fire sprang up Sunday just south of the Murphy Fire, prompting the closure of Ruby Road, officials said.
The newly coined Pajarita Fire burned 400 acres south of the Murphy Fire near the international border, said Marylee Peterson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety closed access to Peña Blanca Lake, including Ruby Road, Peterson said. The road was a divider between the two fires, but the Pajarita Fire slowly crept northward and merged with the Murphy Fire in some areas, prompting Murphy firefighters to fight Pajarita as well.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Just north, the Murphy Fire is only 15 percent contained and has burned 37,566 acres four miles west of Tubac. It's now threatening the communities of Tubac and Rio Rico, but no evacuations are planned.
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In the Chiricahuas, the Horseshoe 2 Fire shrank slightly but still had burned a whopping 100,200 acres five miles south of Portal, with 55 percent containment.
Firefighters have struggled against dry, windy weather since the fire started about a month ago. Now, possible dry thunderstorms could start more fires, said Ron Kaczor, a spokesman for the Horseshoe Fire incident management team.
Evacuations of Paradise, East Whitetail Canyon and other nearby residences will continue indefinitely, Kaczor said. The fire is also encroaching on Chiricahua National Monument.
So far, two private cabins have burned, as well as a U.S. Forest Service bunkhouse, two bathrooms at Rustler Campground and Barfoot Lookout.
Contact reporter Kellie Mejdrich at 573-4142 or mejdrich@azstarnet.com
