Acres: 36,964
Start Date: May 22, 2018
Cause: Human-caused
Location: 10 miles NE of Reserve, NM (Gila NF)
Containment: 49%
Fuels: Timber (litter, grass, and understory)
Total personnel: 561

General Information: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday will see some of the hottest days so far on the fire with continued dry weather conditions. A slow push of moisture will move into the area on Friday, which will bring a chance for afternoon isolated showers and thunderstorms throughout the weekend. By Thursday, winds will be lighter across the fire and driven by local terrain. This means that the firefighters will be challenged by the weather. Due to the warm temperatures and a trail re-route around the fire closure area, the Gila National Forest is caching water to assist hikers and bikers on the Continental Divide Trail.

Fire Operations: Last night crews conducted burning operations on the south side of the fire to manage fire intensity as it reaches control lines and to complete the protection measures for Deadman’s Ranch. Crews today are monitoring the fire as is backs down Eagle Peak to the west through the H.B. Fire scar. On the northwest side of the fire, work is being done to prepare FR233 and Wilson Canyon for burning operations. Rehabilitation work continues along the Long Canyon road. Fire lines are holding along the Sawmill road and Moraga Canyon road on the east side of the fire.

Fire Safety Awareness: It continues to be extremely dry all over the southwest region, and visitors and residents should use extreme caution in their use of fire or machinery. In the vicinity of the Buzzard Fire, people should remain alert for heavy fire traffic as equipment and personnel will be travelling the roadways. Drivers should not stop along the roadside to observe helicopters, smoke plumes, or other fire-related activities.

Fire Weather: Winds will be from the west-southwest at 10-15 mph with gusts to 25 mph, bringing another push of moisture into the region. This will lead to improved relative humidity recovery overnight and into early morning hours.

Closures & Restrictions: The area around the fire remains 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. The trail reroute map is available at https://bit.ly/2GRESFw . More closure information is available at https://bit.ly/2LvwKhN . For information on current fire restrictions, please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/gila/alerts-notices/?aid=46143 .

Smoke Situation: Night and early morning smoke will continue to impact Reserve and surrounding areas. Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures. For more information on air quality and health impacts due to wildfire smoke, please visit the New Mexico Department of Health website at https://nmtracking.org/fire. Smoke concentration data is available at: https://tools.airfire.org/monitoring/v4 .

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
Office Hours: 8:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.
InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5814/ 
Email: buzzardfireinfo2018@gmail.com