SAN LORENZO, NM – The Silver Fire received moisture over most of the fire today and as a result fire behavior remained  moderate.  Higher humidity helped crews battle the 21,400 acre fire.
 
Firefighters continue to focus on protection of structures and construction of containment line. Late today crews conducted two small firing operations one mile north of Kingston near the Black Colt Mine reinforcing structure protection. To date firefighters have constructed approximately 20 miles of fire line with an additional 15 miles scouted.  Silver Fire resources also assisted  the Gila National Forest on a new fire near Georgetown.

There are 552 firefighters working the fire which include five helicopters, eight hotshot crews, five 20-person hand  crews, 16 engines, two dozers and 11 water tenders.

A public meeting will be held in Silver City tomorrow, Saturday, at 6 p.m. at the Grant County Administration Building located at 1400 US Highway 180 East. Additional meetings are held each morning at the Hillsboro Community Center at 10 a.m.

Gila National Forest officials want to remind the general public that the forest is open to recreation except in the restricted fire area.

Several agencies are assisting with the Silver Fire, they include the Grant and Sierra County Sheriffs Department, NM State Police, Las Cruces BLM District, and  NM State Forestry.

To ensure public safety, the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Area has been closed east of NM State Highway 152 from the Continental Divide Trail #74 south to Reeds Peak. NM State Highway 152 from San Lorenzo to Hillsboro remains closed. The road closure is for east and westbound traffic from 35 miles east of Bayard at mile marker 16 to 10 miles west of Hillsboro at mile marker 40. Trail #79 and the Royal John Mine Road are also closed for public safety. For more information see http://fs.usda.gov/gila  or www.nmroads.com

Silver Fire updates can be found on Inciweb at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3414. For additional fire information visit the following websites: www.facebook.com/SilverFireNM, www.flickr.com/gilaforest, www.twitter.com/SilverFireNM.