Location: southeast of Mangas Mountain, Quemado Ranger District, Catron County, NM
Start Date: June 6, 2019 Size: ~250 acres Cause: Lightning
Vegetation: Transitional moving up Mangas Mountain from pinyon juniper grasslands to ponderosa pine, to dry mixed conifer to wet mixed conifer with aspen.
Resources: One Type 3 helicopter, FS engine, Silver City IHC, Gila IHC, Escondido WFM
Incident Commander: Heath Barker, IC3
Fire Activity: Fire activity over the last 24 hours has been of low to moderate intensity, with dead fallen trees (3-8” diameter) and brush piles burning.
Summary:
The Elk Fire is burning on National Forest System lands on the Quemado Ranger District, Gila National Forest. Today, hot shot crews will continue prepping communication sites, the lookout tower and helispots. The strategy for this incident is to suppress the fire to the smallest fire footprint. Lack of access and resistance to control, the ability of firefighters to suppress this fire will be extremely difficult and limited. The public should expect to see this fire continue to grow across the landscape. Firefighters will continue to assess and engage this fire where and when opportunities exist. As of Monday, June 10, 2019 Dave Gesser’s Type 2 Southwest Incident Management Team will assume management of this fire.
Ground reconnaissance of the area shows it to be in remote and rugged terrain, with rocky, steep slopes, deep drainages and lava rock surrounded by grasses and pinyon juniper. The primary objective for all wildland fire is wildland firefighter safety and public safety. Additional objectives include managing fire to achieve desired conditions for all identified values such as private land with infrastructure, communication sites, FS lookout tower, range improvements, and critical wildlife habitat.
Smoke from fire rises up and away during the daytime, but in the evening, smoke can pool back down in canyons, drainages, and basins. For information on air quality and protecting your health, and to find guidance on distances and visibility, please visit https://nmtracking.org/fire . Fire information can be found at http://nmfireinfo.com and Inciweb at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6379/ .
For information on the Gila National Forest, check out our website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/gila