Pass Fire Daily Update June 3, 2023

Category: Front Page News Front Page News
Published: 03 June 2023 03 June 2023

See map and smoke outlook at the bottom of this article.

Gila Las Cruces Type 3 Incident Management Team Incident Commander – Pete Valenzuela
Information Phone: 720 693-3527 Hours: 8 am-8pm

Acres: 29,073
Location: 40 miles west of Winston, NM
Containment: 0%
Personnel: 164
Start Date: May 18, 2023
Cause: Lightning
Fuels: Timber, pinon/juniper and grass

Visibility over the fire decreased yesterday due to smoke and aerial operations were canceled. Cloud cover helped crews on the ground by cooling the fire area, reducing fire behavior, and making fuels more receptive to suppression tactics. Crews continue to patrol the fire perimeter, locating and extinguishing hot spots and documenting fire effects.

Today's focus is to begin cleanup and preparation, on Road 21, in the event of fire movement to the west. In the Gila Wilderness fire is moving south towards Indian Creek. Rock and sparse fuels are creating a natural barrier to fire spread. Lookouts on Yellow Mountain are monitoring fire movement in the area, ready to respond if necessary. The plan is to keep the fire on the east side of Indian Creek. Beaver Creek is in monitor status and the fire is tied in to the bluff above the creek. A module of firefighters trained to observe and document the effects of the fire on the landscape has been deployed into the area.

Weather: The next few days will begin sunny with clouds building towards the afternoon. A chance of thunderstorms is in the forecast over the fire area through Tuesday. A shift to northerly winds, yesterday, caused smoke to move into the Silver City area. This is expected to clear today as winds shift back to the west.

Aviation Restrictions: A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is still in place over the Pass Fire. All non-fire aircraft are restricted. This includes civilian drones. Unauthorized aircraft in the area will ground firefighting aircraft, hindering firefighting efforts.

Closures: The Gila National Forest remains open. Visitors are encouraged to use extreme caution when driving near the fire area due to the presence of firefighters and equipment and the potential for decreased visibility due to the high volume of smoke.

Health: Some residents in the surrounding areas are beginning to experience breathing difficulties. With the increase in smoke, air quality has decreased in many areas. Please refer to www.airnow.gov for smoke conditions and recommendations for your area.

For More Information:
• Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmgnf-pass-fire Inciweb is the official site for fire
information. This site is secure and updated daily.
• New Mexico Fire Information: https://nmfireinfo.com/
• Air Quality: https://www.airnow.gov



Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.