Acres: 12,400 Start Date: May 22, 2018
Cause: Under investigation Location: NE of Eagle Peak Lookout, Gila NF
Containment: 0% Fuels: Timber (litter, grass, and understory)
Total personnel: 480
General Information: The Buzzard Fire continues to burn in steep, rugged country north of Eagle Peak Lookout on the Reserve Ranger District of the Gila National Forest. The fire is spreading, mostly toward the northeast and south, and is now mapped at over 12,400 acres. A red flag warning has been issued over the fire area for the weekend and crews are conducting burn out operations in advance of the main portion of the fire to prepare for possible extreme fire behavior.
Fire Operations: Crews have secured the fire’s edge on the northwestern portion along Forest Road (FR) 94 from the Continental Divide west to FR 4064F, and along FR 4064F to the rim of Deep Canyon. Efforts to establish control lines to contain the fire south of FR94 into Long Canyon have been unsuccessful due to the rugged terrain and extremely dry fuels in the dense mixed conifer forest type. At this time, the fire has not crossed the Long Canyon Road. To prepare for the increased southwest winds today, and to keep fire south of the Long Canyon road, crews burned out along the road throughout the night to a point east of the Cottonwood Canyon Road. The southern edge of the fire is continuing to back into the wind and crews are keeping up with the fire’s spread in this area by burning out along a series of roads on the eastern and western edges of the fire.
Fire Safety Awareness: This Memorial Day weekend will bring critical fire weather over the region and visitors and residents should use extreme caution in their use of fire or machinery. In addition, people should remain alert for heavy fire traffic as equipment and personnel will be travelling the roadways in the vicinity. People should not stop along the roadside to observe helicopters. For information on current fire restrictions, go to https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/gila/alerts-notices/?aid=46143.
Fire Weather: High temperatures and low humidity with strong, gusty winds may result in extreme fire conditions. A red flag warning has been issued over the fire area for today and tomorrow. See https://bit.ly/2sbgxWN .
Closures: Areas around the fire are closed for public safety. Roadblocks have been set up by local law enforcement. In support of this closure, the Continental Divide Trail has been rerouted around the fire closures. See https://bit.ly/2GRESFw . More closure information is available at https://bit.ly/2LvwKhN .
Smoke Situation: Smoke will be visible today throughout Catron County and also in Apache County in Eastern Arizona. Smoke tends to settle in valleys overnight. Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures. Real-time smoke monitoring devices have been set up at the Reserve Ranger Station and at the Aragon Volunteer Fire Department. To see smoke levels in these areas, and for more information on air quality, please visit the New Mexico Department of Health website at https://nmtracking.org/fire .
Fire Information Links: Fire information can be found at nmfireinfo.com and https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5814/. For information on the Gila National Forest, please visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/gila .
Fire Information: (602) 529-5924 (8:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.)
Email: buzzardfireinfo2018@gmail.com