Pass Fire Update June 27, 2023

Pass Fire
Gila National Forest Incident Commanders – Billy Trujillo IC - Dustin Roper IC (t)
Information Phone: 575-388-8211 Hours: 8 am-4:30 pm
Email:2023.Pass@Firenet.gov Acres: 56,954
Location: 40 miles west of Winston, NM
Containment: 12%
Personnel: 119
Start Date: May 18, 2023
Cause: Lightning
Fuels: Timber, piñon/juniper and grass

The Pass Fire grew an additional 1271 acres yesterday where the fire is most active on the southeast side near Trails End Ranch and the East Fork of the Gila River. The fire is gradually progressing towards the east and southeast and fire crews are successfully holding the fire within containment lines.

Today, firefighters are implementing a plan to improve FR704 and assess and prep White Rocks Trail (27) and Iron Trail (771) to be utilized as part of the containment line and prevent the fire from advancing towards private land. As part of the strategy to ensure the protection of private land and structures, firefighters will carefully evaluate and implement hand ignition operations to herd the fire away from private property.

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Rico Fire Update – June 27, 2023

Rico Fire Update – June 27, 2023
Location: ¼ mile NW of Pinos Altos, NM I Size: 328 acres* I Containment: 70% I Personnel: 146
Start Date: June 20, 2023 I Cause: Under investigation I Fuels: Slash, timber and brush
*Size: adjusted from 421 acre to 328 acres due to more accurate mapping
The LAST FIRE UPDATE for the RICO FIRE will be issued tomorrow, June 28

SILVER CITY, NM, June 27, 2023 – Firefighters using hand-held GPS units were able to walk and map the entire perimeter of the Rico Fire, resulting in a more accurate measurement of the acreage. Containment is at 70%, and suppression repair work continues. The workforce has decreased slightly and is sufficient based on the current workload. Work that is now underway involves repairing hand and dozer lines, trails, staging areas, safety zones, drop points, and possibly roads that were used during the firefighting effort. Visibility of the handline constructed during the fire will be reduced and brush and limbs may be scattered onto firelines so that a more natural appearance is restored. Waterbars are being installed to facilitate drainage, especially on sloped terrain and handline intersections with roads and trails.

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National History Day participants from Silver Consolidated Schools, who made it to national competition, part 1

nhd pic 3Silver Schools National History Day participants in front of World War II Memorial 2023 (Courtesy Photo)

[Editor's Note: This is the first of several in a series of articles about and by students who participated from Silver Consolidated Schools in the National History Day competitions, under the tutelage of teachers Claudie Thompson and Lee Wilson.]

These students succeeded at the state level, allowing them to go to Nationals in Washington D.C. Two entries, a group project, and an individual project placed among the top 10 finalists at Nationals.

Projects/students that competed at nationals:

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Cobre goes over upcoming budget

By Lynn Janes
 
 The Cobre Consolidated Schools held a board meeting at on June 12, 2023. President Serena Murillo called the meeting to order. Other board members in attendance included Gabrielle Begay, Gilbert Guadiana, Elizabeth Dean and David Terrazas (online). Superintendent Dr. Jeff Spaletta also attended.
 
Reading of the board norms took place with each board member reading a norm. The norms consist of five rules the board strives to adhere to during the meeting. They are listed as actively listen to all perspectives, respond to concerns and questions as a unified board, professionalism expected, assume positive intent, and be positive and responsive.
 
The Pledge of Allegiance and salute to the New Mexico flag took place.
 
Public input on agenda items none currently.
 
The board approved the agenda with changes. Arsenic summary at San Lorenzo school moved to after the agenda approval. Spaletta asked that several items be tabled, meeting minutes from May 1, 2023, and May 22, 2023. They also tabled stipend schedule, and salary schedules for food service and security guards.
 
Murillo had concerns over not having meeting minutes done in the required time according to open meetings act requirements and asked that be addressed.

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Pass Fire Update June 26, 2023

Pass Fire
Gila National Forest Incident Commanders –Billy Trujillo Dustin Roper (t)
Information Phone: 575-388-8211 Hours: 8 am-4:30 pm

Acres: 55,683
Location: 40 miles west of Winston, NM
Containment: 13%
Personnel: 112
Start Date: May 18, 2023
Cause: Lightning
Fuels: Timber, piñon/juniper and grass

Email:2023.Pass@Firenet.gov

The Pass Fire remained active yesterday afternoon in the southeastern side of the perimeter along Windfall Canyon and Burnt Corral Canyon, slowly burning to the south and to the northeast through an additional 1,226 acres of piñon/juniper type woodland and heavy overgrown vegetation. The fire is still exhibiting low to moderate fire behavior. A white plume of smoke from the Pass Fire developed during the afternoon hours, after west to southwest winds increased.

Smoke from the Pass Fire will settle in the lower valleys during evening and early morning hours and should lift by midmorning. Please visit https://fire.airnow.gov/# (Smoke and Air Map) for more information on air quality.

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Rico Fire Update – June 26, 2023

Rico Fire Update – June 26, 2023
Location: ¼ mile NW of Pinos Altos, NM I Size: 421 acres I Containment: 61% I Personnel: 157
Start Date: June 20, 2023 I Cause: Under investigation I Fuels: Slash, timber and brush

The LAST FIRE UPDATE for the RICO FIRE will be issued on June 28

SILVER CITY, NM, June 26, 2023 – Having achieved 61% containment, the next phase of the Rico Fire will be suppression repair which involves immediate post-fire actions taken to repair damages and minimize potential soil erosion. Impacts result from fire suppression activities and repair/rehab work usually begins before the fire is contained and before demobilization of the Incident Management Team. This work repairs hand and dozer lines, trails, staging areas, safety zones, drop points, and possibly roads used during the firefighting effort. Visibility of the handline constructed during the fire will be reduced to prevent it from becoming a new trail or travel corridor. Brush and limbs may be scattered onto firelines so that a more natural appearance is restored. Waterbars are installed to facilitate drainage, especially on sloped terrain and handline intersections with roads and trails.

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Grant County Commission 060623 work session and regular meeting 060823 part 6

[Editor's Note: This article is the sixth of a series of articles on the Grant County Commission work session on June 6, 2023 and the regular meeting on June 8, 2023. This article begins with a second presentation and the continuing review of the regular meeting agenda and decisions made.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

The second presentation at the Grant County Commission regular meeting on June 8, 2023, featured Gila Regional Medical Center Interim Chief Executive Officer Margie Molitor. She said her No. 1 job is onboarding the new Board of Trustees, who will begin their terms on July 1, 2023. "I had an informal meeting with them the other evening, and another meeting tonight for them to meet leadership. Six of the seven will attend the New Mexico Hospital Association board education event on June 21 and 22. We will hold two orientations for them in July."

She said the hospital had completed its first month of rounding with directors visiting with their staff members. "One told me she didn't know that she would benefit from it, until she sat down with some of them and listened to them and thought: 'Wow, this is a good thing.' We'll continue to refine the process, but we've had some really good feedback from the first month. We are continuing to work on becoming a certified chest pain center through the American College of Cardiology. Our steam sterilization tank has been replaced, and we're back to full sterilizations. I thank the team for what they and sister hospitals did to keep things functioning."

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Gabe Ramos new clerk-treasurer for Bayard

By Lynn Janes
 
The town of Bayard held a work session June 12, 2023. The work session allows the council time to ask questions about items on the agenda and discuss them.
 
Marlena Valenzuela, city clerk, addressed the council with some information and concerns. Police Chief, Hector Carrillo had inquired about adding phone lines and Ortiz reached out to Michael Paez, public works director, to see if his department needed to increase its lines.
 
Valenzuela wanted to address some information that had come out in the Silver City Daily Press that had been incorrect. The paper had said Bayard had a $7 million surplus. “We do not have a surplus.” She went over the budget line by line with the council. She pointed out the $7 million belonged to restricted funds. Those funds have been allocated to EMS, fire, law enforcement, water, projects, etc. “These funds can’t be used for anything else. The city must, as a requirement, keep funds as reserves for the  entities and projects. We do not a  $7 million surplus.”

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