Grant County Commission held special meeting May 23, 2023
- Category: Front Page News Front Page News
- Published: 03 June 2023 03 June 2023
By Mary Alice Murphy
Gila National Forest Fire Management Officer Gabriel Holguin presented the forest service weather outlook for the upcoming fire season at the Grant County Commission special meeting on May 23, 2023.
"We are well above average in precipitation for the entire year to date," Holguin reported. "This fire season is very different from last year. We were already seeing significant green up before last weekend's rain. The drought designation was removed, and it is not anticipated to return any time soon. This is atypical when we have this kind of weather. It may lessen the monsoon, or it could extend into fire season. We are at 109 percent of normal from January through May."
He showed graphs that noted the higher March precipitation levels. "The eastern side of the state is not faring as well as we are. The energy component, which indicates the level of fire risk is down to 35, which is significantly lower than average. The moisture of big logs is trending upward, above 10 percent, higher than last year."
Pass Fire Daily Update June 3, 2023
- Category: Front Page News Front Page News
- Published: 03 June 2023 03 June 2023
See map and smoke outlook at the bottom of this article.
Gila Las Cruces Type 3 Incident Management Team Incident Commander – Pete Valenzuela
Information Phone: 720 693-3527 Hours: 8 am-8pm
Acres: 29,073
Location: 40 miles west of Winston, NM
Containment: 0%
Personnel: 164
Start Date: May 18, 2023
Cause: Lightning
Fuels: Timber, pinon/juniper and grass
Visibility over the fire decreased yesterday due to smoke and aerial operations were canceled. Cloud cover helped crews on the ground by cooling the fire area, reducing fire behavior, and making fuels more receptive to suppression tactics. Crews continue to patrol the fire perimeter, locating and extinguishing hot spots and documenting fire effects.
Pass Fire Daily Update June 2, 2023
- Category: Front Page News Front Page News
- Published: 02 June 2023 02 June 2023
See Map below
Gila Las Cruces Type 3 Incident Management Team Incident Commander – Pete Valenzuela Email: 2023.Pass@Firenet.gov
Information Phone: 720 693-3527 Hours: 8 am-8pm
Acres: 21,207
Location: 40 miles west of Winston, NM
Containment: 0%
Personnel: 160
Start Date: May 18, 2023
Cause: Lightning
Fuels: Timber and grass
Yesterday the operational focus was to burnout the area south of Hwy 59 and west of Beaver Creek, tying it in to the main fire. A helicopter was used for aerial firing. Burnout operations were monitored closely and adjusted as needed to keep fire intensity low. On the ground, firefighters were able to tie the line in to natural features on the bluffs above Beaver Creek. This will keep the fire on the bluff and out of the creek. Today's focus is to continue firing south of yesterday's burn to keep fire intensity low and protect identified values at risk.
Overhead traffic lights to replace light pole
- Category: Front Page News Front Page News
- Published: 01 June 2023 01 June 2023
By Roger Lanse
Silver City Town Manager Alex Brown told the Beat he was "very frustrated" by the light pole issue at the intersection of Highway 180 (Silver Heights Blvd.) and Pinos Altos Road (Durango Street). When the light pole was knocked down around the first of the year, it took 4-5 months to have one put up again, he said, and then two weeks later, Saturday, May 27, it was knocked down again.
Brown said the town will attempt to remedy the situation by putting those traffic signals overhead and getting rid of the light pole. He expects electricians to begin preparing the new wiring next week.
Pass Fire, June 1, 2023 update
- Category: Front Page News Front Page News
- Published: 01 June 2023 01 June 2023
Gila Las Cruces Type 3 Incident Management Team
Incident Commander – Pete Valenzuela
Daily Update June 1, 2023
Information Phone: 720 693-3527 Hours: 8 am-8 pm EMail: 2023.Pass@Firenet.gov
SCFD honors outgoing assistant chief
- Category: Front Page News Front Page News
- Published: 01 June 2023 01 June 2023
Photos and article by Roger Lanse
SCFD honors retiring Assistant Chief Jeff Fell 053123
SCFD honors retiring Assistant Chief Jeff Fell 053123
SCFD force
SCFD honors retiring Assistant Chief Jeff Fell 053123
Lowering the colors to present to Fell
SCFD honors retiring Assistant Chief Jeff Fell 053123
SCFD force: in front from left, Capt. Lance Horton, Assistant Chief Aaron Seavers, Jeff Fell with flag, Chief Milo Lambert
SCFD honors retiring Assistant Chief Jeff Fell 053123
From left, Fell, Lambert
The Silver City Fire Department arranged a ceremony Wednesday, May 31, 2023, to honor Assistant Chief and Emergency Manager Jeff Fell, on his last day of duty, for his 20 years of service to the department. Fell is retiring from SCFD and plans to move his family to Stillwater, Oklahoma, the middle of August. There he will join the non-profit International Fire Service Training Association based at Oklahoma State University. Fell will be a training specialist building relationships with other fire departments using his skills in fire prevention to train other fire departments and making sure those departments have the instructional material they need.
Fell told the Beat, although IFSTA instruction is available in multiple languages over the entire world, it's possible his area to oversee may include New Mexico.