Gila Las Cruces Type 3 Incident Management Team MARCUS CORNWELL – INCIDENT COMMANDER
Notification for Public Health and Safety
Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Highway 15 reopening; Drivers are urged to use caution as fire crews remain on-scene
Acres: 47,294 Start Date: Thursday, June 12, 2025 Location: 12 miles north of Silver City, NM
Personnel: 311 Containment: 83% Cause: Lightning
Summary: Highway 15 is officially open to through-traffic as of 6:00 a.m. today, July 2, 2025. As firefighters continue working along the highway corridor and in nearby areas, motorists are urged to maintain heightened awareness and drive with caution.
Yesterday, two hotshot crews constructed handline around a five-acre area of heat, south of Signal Peak. Two Type 1 helicopters supported with water drops. Today, handcrews are engaged in the same area, extinguishing remaining heat. Across the fire area, crews maintain focused on hazard mitigation, line rehabilitation and fuels reduction actions. Restoration assessments and additional repair work are ongoing in Lake Roberts Estates.
Crews concentrated efforts on repairing lines in Soldier Canyon and debris lop-and-scatter operations. National Guard personnel also relocated sandbags from Lake Roberts to Camp Thunderbird.
Firefighters and incident personnel continue balancing suppression repair with containment efforts. Public cooperation is appreciated, and awareness is vital to everyone’s safety as we approach the holiday weekend, especially in areas where crews and equipment remain active.
Weather: Cooler temperatures persist today. Scattered rain showers are also likely across the fire area, with widespread precipitation totals ranging from one-tenth to one-quarter inch. Isolated pockets may receive between 0.5 to over an inch of rainfall. Due to these conditions, there is an elevated risk of flash flooding through Thursday.
Safety: Please remain vigilant and travel cautiously in the fire area and around incident personnel.
Smoke: Local air quality ratings are good. For real-time smoke conditions, visit: https://fire.airnow.gov/ .
Closures & Fire Restrictions:
Road closures: https://www.nmroads.com/default.html?v=2025012001
Gila National Forest Closures and Alerts: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/gila/alerts
Stage 2 Fire Restrictions: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/gila/alerts/stage-2-fire-restrictions
Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR): https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr3/?page=detail_5_3951
More Information:
Trout Fire InciWeb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/nmgnf-trout-fire
Trout Fire BAER Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmgnf-trout-fire-burned-area-emergency-response-baer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GilaNForest
Public Information Phone: 575-323-8964 (8 am – 8 pm)
Email:
###
