Location: between Blood Canyon and Brushy Mountain, Wilderness Ranger District, Gila National Forest
Start Date: June 6, 2020 Size: ~ 8,370 acres Cause: Lightning
Vegetation: Pinyon Juniper Containment: 15%
Resources: Three 20-person Interagency Hotshot Crews (IHC)
The strategy for today is for two IHCs to hot spot and cold trail the northeast/east flank and contain any portion of the fire that could potentially threaten NM Hwy 15 and the private residences or business within the highway corridor. The third IHC will continue prep of the Little Creek drainage to the west. There is a temporary closure order #03-06-05-20-004 dated June 11, 2020, that includes Trail #160 which comes out of the Gila Center, and Trail #161 at Little Creek.

Values on these fires include public and wildland fire safety, the NM Hwy 15 corridor, private inholdings and associated infrastructure, the cultural and tourism aspect of the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, the natural values of wilderness, wildlife habitat including the Gila trout, and to minimize the footprint and to have low intensity fire on the landscape.

Smoke from fire rises up and away during the daytime, but in the evenings, smoke can pool back down in canyons, drainages, and basins. Overnight smoke from the Tadpole Fire has settled in the Mimbres Valley. 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 nmfireinfo.com. Inciweb information: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6739/.

For information on the Gila National Forest, check out our website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/gila