Wildfire Notification #14
Good afternoon,
The New Mexico Forestry Division would like to update you on several wildfires that are requiring the attention of state, local and federal resources in New Mexico.
State Managed Fires
Sunset Fire
Date / Time/ Situation: All fire lines continue to hold, raising today’s containment percentage to 50%. Yesterday’s activity found one interior smoke and there was no precipitation. The lightning-caused fire started on Saturday, August 5, south of Highway 70 between Capitan and Roswell.
Resources: 50 personnel are engaged in response, including two hand crews, air attack and multiple engines from local and state resources.
Weather: Isolated showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. West wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Evacuations/closures: There are no evacuations or road closures. No structures are currently threatened.
West Fire
Date / Time/ Situation: The lightning–caused West fire remains at 200 acres and zero percent containment. Yesterday brought no growth on the fire, and no smoke is visible. The West fire started August 1 on the Double H Ranch west of Magdalena, NM. Fire behavior has been low to moderate backing, flanking, and interior torching.
Resources: 12 personnel are engaged in response, including one hand crew and three engines.
Weather: Scattered showers and thunderstorms after noon. Increasing clouds, with a high near 84. West wind 10 -15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Evacuations/closures: There are no evacuations or road closures.
Federally Managed Fires
West Fork Fire
Date / Time/ Situation: Forward progression on the West Fork fire has stopped, and crews are continuing to work on securing the fire's perimeter. The lightning-caused fire started yesterday, August 7, and is 42 acres with 25% percent containment. It is located in San Juan County, northwest of Navajo Dam, approximately 6 miles south of the NM-CO State line.
Resources: Bureau of Land Management and San Juan County Fire Department are responding. Resources include five engines, one fire use module and one type-2 hand crew.
Evacuations/closures: There are no evacuations or road closures. However, the fire is in the vicinity of oil and gas well pads. Members of the public should avoid the West Fork Fire area.
Smoke: Smoke is visible from Arboles, and Pagosa Springs, Colo., and Highways 64 and 550. Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures.
Black Feather Fire
Date / Time/ Situation: The Black Feather Fire is estimated at 2,700 acres with 0% containment. The lightning-caused fire started Saturday, Aug. 5. around 1 p.m. in the San Pedro Wilderness on the Santa Fe National Forest, 12 miles northeast of Cuba, NM. Today, full-suppression efforts will be concentrated on the eastern flank of the fire, firefighters will be scouting potential areas for new containment lines and improving existing containment lines. Structure protection crews will be evaluating properties and communities along the eastern edge of the fire area and developing strategies in the event the fire continues moving out of the wilderness area.
Announcements: A community meeting will be held for the Black Feather Fire on Thursday, August 10, at 7 p.m. at the Coronado High School Campus at 1903 NM-96, Gallina, NM 87017, and will be live-streamed on the Black Feather Fire Facebook Page (no account is needed to view this live-stream).
Resources: Yesterday, the Northern New Mexico Type 3 Incident Management Team assumed command of the fire and continued with full-suppression tactics in support of the Santa Fe National Forest. The Southwest Area Type 1 team, led by Incident Commander Dave Bales, assumed command of the fire at 7:00 this morning. Incident objectives include maintaining firefighter safety, along with protecting property and timber and watershed areas. Currently, firefighting resources include nine hotshot crews, 23 engines, six helicopters, and various fixed-wing support aircraft, with more resources arriving daily.
Evacuations: The communities of Mesa Pinebetal and Mesa Poleo have been placed in ‘Set’ status. The community of Wetherill is in ‘Ready’ status. The Coyote Senior Center is open to evacuees and livestock can be taken to the Rio Arriba Rural Event Center near Abiquiu. The Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating evacuations, for more information, visit the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079688263048
Restrictions/Closures: People are discouraged from traveling on Forest Road 103, which connects NM 96 to NM 126, and from using the continental divide trail along the San Pedro Parks Wilderness section. Road closures are being adjusted based on fire activity.
Safety: Please stay out of the fire area to allow crews safe access to the fire. A Temporary Flight Restriction is in place around the fire area. Please do not fly drones anywhere near the fire. If you fly, we can’t fly.
Weather: Today should be warmer and drier than yesterday; expect highs around 70°. Any showers or storms that develop today are expected to be far southwest of the fire, allowing relative humidity to fall to around 20° this afternoon. Look for winds generally out of the northwest in the teens with gusts into the 20s.
Social Media: The Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating evacuations. More info is available on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079688263048.Fire Information: 505-460-0499. InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/nmsnf-black-feather-fire
American Mesa Fire
Date / Time/ Situation: The American Mesa fire is burning in pinyon-juniper woodlands and, as of this morning, fire crews have made excellent progress in holding the fire at 756 acres, with 25% containment. A Type 3 Incident Management Team, Nevada Team 2, took command of the fire at 6:00 a.m. on August 8. The fire is located on the Jicarilla Ranger District of the Carson National Forest, and started around 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 8.
Resources: There are currently 160 personnel on scene including hot shots, engines, and hand crews. Crews are actively engaged on the fire line working on mop up operations.
Evacuations: There are no evacuations. There are no immediate threats to structures.
Weather: The forecast is more favorable than originally predicted which will help firefighters further contain the fire. Mostly clear and sunny skies are forecast on Wednesday, with a 0% chance of showers. Temperatures may be cooler with breezy conditions and occasional wind gusts up to 22 mph in the afternoon.
Social Media: The public can get updates for the American Mesa Fire on InciWeb, New Mexico Fire Information and Carson National Forest social media channels on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
Lake Fire
Date / Time/ Situation: The Lake Fire is 73 acres and containment has increased to 90%. Fire managers continue to implement a full suppression strategy. The lightning-caused fire started August 2 on the west side of Navajo Lake Dam on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Reclamation.
Resources: 25 personnel are engaged in response. Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, San Juan County, and City of Farmington are responding to this effort.
Evacuations/closures: There are no evacuations or road closures.
Dolan Fire
Date / Time/ Situation: Yesterday, approximately one inch of rain fell on the Dolan fire and has greatly diminished its activity. Still, it has grown to 3,400 acres and remains at zero percent containment. The fire is confined within the network of Forest Roads (4052 P/M/T, FS 107, FS 521 and the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). It is 1 ½ miles west of the CDT. The Dolan fire started July 30 about 15 miles northwest of Winston.
Resources: 108 personnel are engaged in response. This includes three crews, one helicopter, three engines, and one water tender.
Evacuations/closures: There are no evacuations or road closures. Although this is not a high-use time for hikers, fire managers have identified an alternative route for safety. Please use caution and be aware of personnel and activity in the fire area. Smoke may be visible from Highway 59 around the Beaverhead area.
Prior Fire / Porcupine Fire
Date / Time/ Situation: Due to precipitation in the area yesterday, resources have been diverted from the Prior and Porcupine fires, with focus shifting to suppression on the nearby Turkey fire.
Turkey Fire
Date / Time/ Situation: The Turkey fire is 9 miles northeast of Cliff, NM. It is 5,200 acres and 0% contained. It is currently the most active fire in the Gila Wilderness, with the east side of the fire being the fire’s most active portion. A type-3 Incident Management Team is in the process of transitioning onto the fire. Resources have been diverted from the Prior fire and Porcupine fire.
Smoke: Smoke is very visible from surrounding communities with open flame at times of high fire behavior. Smoke will impact HWY 15 and 35 and coordination has happened with NM DOT to place large message boards at the entry of HWY 15 and 35.
Fire Weather Summary
After a couple of active weather days, today will be much more tranquil thanks to dry air moving in on northwest breezes. The exception to this rule is over the southwest mountains where monsoon moisture remains in place and isolated afternoon thunderstorms develop. Monsoon moisture begins creeping back into New Mexico from the west on Thursday with isolated showers and thunderstorms returning mainly to western areas.
Northern New Mexico - Sunny, with a high near 82. West wind 5 to 15 mph. Tonight, partly cloudy, with a low around 55. West wind 5 to 15 mph.
Southwest New Mexico - Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 3pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 81. West wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Smoke Conditions
Fire activity in New Mexico and other states is leading to increased smoke conditions. A daily Smoke Outlook for affected areas is available through the U.S Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program.
Individuals sensitive to wildfire smoke should take precautions and use the New Mexico Department of Health 5-3-1 Visibility Method to determine if it’s safe to be outside. Learn more at https://nmtracking.doh.nm.gov/environment/air/FireAndSmoke.html . An interactive smoke map at https://fire.airnow.gov/ allows you to zoom into your area to see the latest smoke conditions.
Internet / Social Media
The public can continue to follow fires in New Mexico on InciWeb, New Mexico Fire Information and New Mexico Forestry Division’sX account (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.