Start Date: May 22, 2018
Location: 10 miles NE of Reserve, NM (Gila NF)
Acres: 49,449
Fuels: Timber (litter, grass and understory)
Cause: Human-caused
Containment: 82%
Total Personnel: 140

General Information: On Wednesday, June 19 a transfer of command to the Type 3 team occurred. The Type 3 Incident Commander is Scott Jones, with Marcus Cornwell as trainee. Firefighters will continue firing operations and suppression actions in the southwest corner of the fire's perimeter. The Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team are making good progress towards emergency treatments to protect life, property, natural and cultural resources.

Fire Operations: On the west portion of the fire crews will conduct indirect firing operations to limit fire spread. Direct suppression efforts will be employed on the fire's southern flank as opportunities arise to safely do so. Aviation resources will also be employed to aid in suppression activities. Some aerial resources will be shared with the Ranch Fire, which started yesterday on the Reserve Ranger District. The BAER team is working on projects such as removing debris (logs, brush, and excess soil) from roadside ditches, culverts and water diversion ditches on roads within and surrounding the fire. Additionally, stream channels will be cleared of woody debris. These treatments will allow for the free flow of water runoff after heavy rain storms and reduce the chances of erosion and downstream flooding. The fire suppression repair and rehabilitation crews will continue to work with two rubber-tired skidders, an excavator, and a dozer to construct water bars and pull material over control lines to aid in revegetation on the southeast side.

Fire Safety/Closures: The Gila National Forest is in Stage 1 Fire Restrictions. Fire Danger is still rated as VERY HIGH. The area around the fire remains closed for public safety until lifted by the Gila National Forest. 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.

Fire Information: Fire information can be found at https://nmfireinfo.com/ and http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5814/. For information on the Gila National Forest, please visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/gila