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Despite wet conditions following nearly 24 hours of heavy rainfall, a field caught fire near Elgin on Sunday afternoon.

At 12:54 p.m. the Sonoita-Elgin Fire District (SEFD) was called to the northeast corner of Lower Elgin Road and Rochelle.

"It was very actively burning when we arrived," said SEFD Battalion Chief Kevin Venos adding that the wildfire was brought under containment in less than 30 minutes. He said black smoke could be seen due to a pile of junk that had ignited.

While there was no structural damage, the fire spread into a nearby apple orchard. The density of trees prevented firefighters from bringing in emergency vehicles and so the fire had to be fought using hand tools.

The fire, which is still under investigation, was said to be human caused.

Venos said that despite all the rain, most of the local grasses are considered "fine fuels" and do not retain moisture for very long.