Front Page News
GRMC new Board of Trustees holds first meeting 072723, part 1
- Category: Front Page News Front Page News
- Published: 13 August 2023 13 August 2023
[Editor's Note: This is part 1 of a two-part series of articles on the GRMC Board of Trustees meeting on July 27, 2023.]
By Mary Alice Murphy
The Gila Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees, appointed by the Grant County Commission, which had served as the GRMC Governing Board up to July 1, 2023, held their first meeting in the Board Room at the hospital on July 27, 2023.
Their first order of business elected their new officers. Dr. Fred Fox will serve as board chair, Betty Vega as vice chair, and Pat McIntire as secretary-treasurer. Other members include Mike Smith, Seth Traeger, Will Hawkins and Javier "Harvey" Salas.
Fox led off the meeting by reading a prepared statement: "This is the first meeting of the new GRMC Board of Trustees comprised of community members appointed by the Grant County Board of Commissioners. Our role is not to manage, but rather to draw on our collective experiences, knowledge and relationships to the people and constituents of Grant County to provide governance to the hospital."
Bayard police department fully staffed
- Category: Front Page News Front Page News
- Published: 13 August 2023 13 August 2023
By Lynn Janes
The town of Bayard held a work session July 24, 2023. Attendance included Mayor Chon Fierro councilors Eloy Medina, Frances Gonzales, and Jose Diaz. Mayor Pro Tem Raul Villanueva did not attend. The work session allows the council time to ask questions about items on the agenda and discuss them.
Gonzales pointed out that the correction she had requested in the minutes for June 26, 2023, had not been made.
Diaz had questions about the cell phone contracts. He also wanted to know if the recent requests for phones had included new staff on the new contracts. Another question concerned how the contract had been spread out between departments. Gabriel Ramos, city clerk, said he has been going over them and at the next meeting he would have solid information for the council.
Silver High gets ready for construction
- Category: Front Page News Front Page News
- Published: 13 August 2023 13 August 2023
[Editor's Note: This is absolutely my fault for not getting this up earlier. My apologies to the author and the community,]
By Lynn Janes
The Silver City Consolidated Schools held a work session on July 24, 2023. President Ashley Montenegro called the meeting to order. Other board members in attendance Michelle Diaz (by phone), Patrick Cohn, Mike McMillan, and Eddie Flores. Superintendent William Hawkins also attended. The Pledge of Allegiance and salute to the New Mexico flag took place.
The board approved the agenda.
The purpose of this work session had to do with the policy F-1400 FF naming facilities. Larry Behrens joined the meeting online to give the board a presentation. He requested that they name the Silver High School band room after the late band director David Kendrick.
Rain Slows the Turkey Fire
- Category: Front Page News Front Page News
- Published: 13 August 2023 13 August 2023
Silver City, NM – August 13, 2023
A Type 3 Incident Management Team assumed command of the fire on August 8, 2023.
The Turkey Fire is located 9 miles northeast of Cliff, New Mexico and remains at an estimated at 5,200 acres with 0% containment. There is a little activity on the east side of the fire. Some smoke still may become visible from Buckhorn, Cliff, Gila and Silver City if fire behavior increases.
A dozer, road grader, hand crews and several wildland fire engines are assigned to the fire. Resources made significant progress yesterday clearing existing trails and roads in order to contain the fire on the east end.
Turkey Fire Shows a Few Smokes
- Category: Front Page News Front Page News
- Published: 12 August 2023 12 August 2023
Silver City, NM – August 12, 2023
A Type 3 Incident Management Team assumed command of the fire on August 8, 2023.
The Turkey Fire is located 9 miles northeast of Cliff, New Mexico and remains at an estimated at 5,200 acres with 0% containment. Most of the activity is on the east side of the fire and some smoke still may be visible from Buckhorn, Cliff, Gila and Silver City if fire behavior increases.
A dozer, road grader, hand crews and several wildland fire engines are assigned to the fire. Resources are clearing existing trails and roads in order to contain the fire on the east end. Crews are clearing and repairing Forest Road 282, also known as Sheep Corral Road, which will act as fire breaks.
Turkey Fire Receives Significant Precipitation-081123, including smoke outlook
- Category: Front Page News Front Page News
- Published: 11 August 2023 11 August 2023
Silver City, NM – August 11, 2023
A Type 3 Incident Management Team assumed command of the fire on August 8, 2023.
The Turkey Fire is located 9 miles northeast of Cliff, New Mexico and estimated at 5,200 acres with 0% contained. Most of the activity is on the east side of the fire and smoke still may be visible from Buckhorn, Cliff, Gila and Silver City if fire behavior increases.
A dozer, road grader, hand crews and several wildland fire engines are assigned to the fire. Resources will focus on clearing existing trails and roads in order to contain the fire on the east end. Crews are clearing and repairing Forest Road 282, also known as Sheep Corral Road, which will act as fire breaks.
Gila National Forest wildfire update
- Category: Front Page News Front Page News
- Published: 11 August 2023 11 August 2023
SILVER CITY, NM, August 11, 2023 – The Gila National Forest has had a very active fire season so far this summer, with six fires larger than 1,000 acres currently active. Mountain areas of the Gila National Forest have received rain over the past several days, helping to slow the growth of all wildfires across the forest.
Wilderness Ranger District:
The Turkey Fire, about 9 miles northeast of Cliff, New Mexico, and is still the most active fire currently on the forest. It is holding at 5,200 acres and 0% contained. A total of 141 personnel are assigned, including one Hotshot crew, three type 2 hand crews, three Type 6 engines, one dozer, and one water tender. Fire behavior is minimal with increased cloud cover, higher relative humidity, and recent rains. Some residual heat and smoke remain at the southeast end of the fire. A dozer is working on improving Forest Road 282 to assist firefighter ingress and egress while crews work on clearing along roads and trails that may serve as containment features under a future drying trend.
Statewide Wildfire Notification 081123
- Category: Front Page News Front Page News
- Published: 11 August 2023 11 August 2023
EMNRD-FORESTRY DIVISION
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. Intermittent precipitation throughout the state has benefited firefighting efforts. More is expected today and through the weekend. The Forestry Division will not issue an update over the weekend unless there is significant new fire activity.
Hart Canyon Fire
- Situation: The Hart Canyon Fire is 17 acres and 10% contained. The fire received strong winds yesterday, but all lines held overnight. Today’s operational period will focus on getting water to portions of the fire, as well as mopping up and securing lines around the fire’s perimeter. The Hart Canyon fire is burning in Colfax County, north of Philmont Scout Ranch. The fire was started by lightning at 1:30pm on August 9, and is burning in mixed conifer and ponderosa pine.
- Resources: 49 personnel are currently assigned to the fire, including two hand crews, six engines, two bulldozers and air resources.
- Weather: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 79. West wind around 5 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: Campers and livestock from nearest Philmont backcountry camps have been evacuated. The fire is three miles away from the nearest structures.
Sunset Fire
- Situation: Today’s containment percentage for the Sunset fire has increased to 70%. All fire lines continue to hold; the fire is in monitor and patrol status. 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: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 84. Northwest wind around 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. 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. No structures are currently threatened.
West Fire
- Situation: The lightning–caused West fire is 200 acres and at 30% containment. Yesterday brought no growth on the fire, and no smoke is visible from Highway 60. Fire continues to receive slight moisture. The West fire started August 1 on the Double H Ranch west of Magdalena, NM, on Aug 1.
- Resources: 12 personnel are engaged in response, including one hand crew and three engines.
- Weather: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 3pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
- Evacuations/closures: There are no evacuations or road closures.
Fire Weather Summary
Moisture will increase today and into the weekend, bringing more widespread showers and thunderstorms. Storms today will favor areas along and west of the central mountains. Locally heavy rainfall will be possible over the weekend, along with an increased risk of flash flooding, especially at recent burn scars. Monsoon activity will continue into next week with the best coverage of storms across the northern and western high terrain. Temperatures will trend cooler, staying near to below average west of central mountains, above average in the east.
- Northern New Mexico - Isolated showers and thunderstorms after noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. West wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Tonight, scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly between midnight and 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57. West wind 10 to 15 mph becoming northwest 5 to 10 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Southwest New Mexico - Showers and thunderstorms, mainly after noon. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. High near 73. North wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Tonight, showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 3am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. North wind 5 to 10 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 Northern and southern New Mexico 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