Updated 12:42pm 6/7
Fire crews in Pecos continue to gain ground on the Tres Lagunas fire and are hoping that increased humidity will work to their advantage. The blaze covered 10,048 acres, was 34 percent contained.
Some 900 firefighters will be working throughout the day on mopping up some areas as well as completing a fireline around a large spot fire north of Holy Ghost Canyon. On the east side of the fire, crews are working to contain several spot fires. N.M 63 remains closed north of the Windy Bridge day use area.
In the Jemez Mountains, the Thompson Ridge Fire was 10 percent contained Friday morning after a relatively quiet night. Crews will work to mop up and secure the fire’s perimeter, especially on its Southern edge, where containment lines are being improved south of Redondo Peak. The areas of Rancho de la Cueva, Thompson Ridge and Elk Valley remains in effect and the Valles Caldera National Preserve, as well as Fenton Lake State Park remain under an evacuation order.
According to a news release, smoke from both the Tres Lagunas and Thompson Ridge fires will be concentrated in La Cueva, Pecos and Jemez Springs,though officials are hopeful that the higher humidity will reduce smoke production. Wind accompanying thunderstorms near the fires may cause smoke to move into other areas, the news release said.
Officials are urging young children, the elderly and pregnant women to avoid outdoor activities overnight and in the mornings when smoke is at its worst.
Update 7:17pm 6/6
With changes in the weather fast approaching, firefighters were racing Thursday to build bigger buffers around a pair of wildfires that have charred 34 square miles of tinder-dry forest in Northern New Mexico.
Forecasters are predicting hot, dry and windy weather to move into New Mexico by the end of the week. The conditions are expected to last a few days, meaning fire behavior will be intense.
On the Valles Caldera National Preserve, crews battling the Thompson Ridge Fire were focusing on getting ahead of the blaze to burn vegetation and other forest debris in hopes of creating a break that would serve to starve the flames as they advance.
“We want to get that work done before it starts to rage again,” said fire information officer Peter D’Aquanni.
The Thompson Ridge Fire has charred about 19 square miles north of Jemez Springs since being sparked last Friday by a downed power line. It forced the evacuation of homes in the Thompson Ridge, Rancho de la Cueva and Elk Valley areas.
As of Thursday, crews had contained only 5 percent of the fire. However, D’Aquanni said firefighters were close to completing a line around the fire, and they planned to spend the next two days bolstering that line.
In recent days, high humidity levels and lower temperatures have helped crews on both the Thompson Ridge Fire and the Tres Lagunas Fire, which is burning about 10 miles north of Pecos on the opposite side of the Santa Fe National Forest.
Weather conditions have limited some burnout operations on the Tres Lagunas blaze, but officials said firefighters were still building lines to the northwest of Holy Ghost Canyon and around spot fires that have started along the southeastern edge of the fire.
The fire was 24 percent contained Thursday. Sparked by a downed power line one week ago, the fire has burned nearly 15 square miles.
Fire officials said the cost of fighting each of the fires has surpassed $2.7 million. A total of 1,747 firefighters and support personnel have been assigned to the fires along a fleet of air tankers, helicopters and engines.
Sawmill Canyon Fire Update
Incident: Sawmill Canyon Fire Wildfire
Released: 5 hrs. ago
Fire Facts
Date started: June 5, 2013
Cause: Lightning
Location: 10 miles southwest of Quemado, NM
Size: 42 acres
Percent Contained: Perimeter lined, no percentage of containment
Number of Personnel: 125
Equipment: 2 Hotshot Crews, 2 Type 2 Crews, 1 Engine Module, 8 Smokejumpers, 5 engines
Resources Threatened: residences, watersheds
Aircraft: helicopters 2 Type 2 Helicopters, 2 Air Attack, 1 Lead Plane, 3 Air Tankers Available if needed
Injuries to Date: 0
FIRE ACTIVITY:
The fire started in the Sawmill Canyon drainage and continued up the ridge to the North yesterday afternoon. Crews, Air Tanker and Helicopter support worked throughout the day to aggressively suppress the fire. The fire was primarily burning in grass and needle cast on the ground with isolated torching of trees. Crews worked in to the night and have lined the perimeter of the fire.
Todays weather predicts isolated showers and thunderstorm with 5% chance of rain with a maximum temperature of 81 degrees. With that weather prediction crews remain vigilant in strengthening containment lines. A Strike Force of Engines will be in place today to assess the subdivisions in the proximity of the fire as an added precaution.
Forest personnel strongly encourage extreme care when traveling in the National Forests. As always, fireworks are prohibited on National Forest System lands
For further information on the Sawmill Canyon Fire please call the Quemado Ranger District at 575-773-4678
Updated at 5:40am 6/6
We continue to pray for rain here at FGGAM. We pray everyday at Noon, please join us. Read this on drought conditions in New Mexico and Magdalena, NM running out of water. https://fggam.org/severe-drought-grips-new-mexico-as-communities-begin-restrictions/
Reports from various sources including the Albuquerque Journal.
The Thompson Ridge Fire had burned 10,400 acres but was still just 5 percent contained, according to the latest figures released at 10 p.m. Wednesday, New Mexico Forestry said in its latest update.
The fire was very active Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, but in spite of the extreme fire behavior, buildings of the Valles Caldera Headquarters Historic District were preserved and remained within containment lines, fire officials said.
The Tres Lagunas Fire had burned 9,441 acres as of 10 p.m. Wednesday, and containment had jumped from 15 percent earlier in the day, up to 24 percent by Wednesday night, New Mexico Forestry officials reported.
Fire burns Valles Caldera
By T.S. Last and Patrick Lohmann/Journal Staff Writers
Though not a lot of rain fell Wednesday on the Tres Lagunas Fire burning north of Pecos, the weather system that moved over the Santa Fe National Forest during the afternoon was beneficial to firefighting efforts there and on the Thompson Ridge Fire west of Los Alamos.
“We didn’t get as much rain as we hoped,” said Dale Thompson, a fire spokesman. “But even if it didn’t rain, the increased humidity and moisture would help the fire behavior. The flames wouldn’t grow as high and the fire would move a lot slower.”
Thompson said no more than 0.08 inches of rain fell on the Tres Lagunas blaze, which had consumed 9,200 acres by Wednesday morning. It started from a downed power line a week ago.
As of Wednesday evening, the fire was reported to be 15 percent contained.
Historic ranch buildings at Valles Caldera National Preserve threatened by the Thompson Ridge Fire, photographed on Wednesday June 5, 2013. (Dean Hanson/Albuquerque Journal)
To the west, the Thompson Ridge Fire continued churning through the forested areas of the Valles Caldera Preserve west of Los Alamos.
The fire has charred about 9,400 acres after doubling in size Tuesday, burning to the edge of the area’s signature Valle Grande meadow. That fire is reported to be 5 percent contained.
Hopes of storms over that area fizzled by the afternoon, depriving firefighters of an opportunity to begin controlled burns on the north and west sides of the fire. Crews had planned to drop ping-pong-ball-sized fire starters from helicopters to try to ignite low-intensity fires, which could head off the fast-moving fire. Still, the increased humidity helped mitigate the fire activity.
Firefighters assigned to the Thompson Ridge also got help from a DC-10 jumbo jet. The air tanker was dropping more than 11,000 gallons of slurry Wednesday along the edge of the fire closest to the historic district of the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The area includes the ranch headquarters, guest houses, other old cabins and barns.
“There was a lot of excitement overnight and into the wee hours because the fire made a strong run right up to the edge of ranch headquarters,” fire information officer Dana Howlett said. “Fortunately, there had been a lot of prep work to protect the structures. We’re very happy to report that the whole district is in very good shape.”
Holy Ghost
Firefighters on the Tres Lagunas Fire jumped on several spot fires in and near Holy Ghost Canyon, one of which burned an additional 250 acres.
The Holy Ghost area is considered a priority because of the 26 summer homes there. A sprinkler system drawing creek water has been operating continuously for several days in an effort to protect the structures, along with aircraft and ground crews.
No structures have been destroyed and just one minor injury to a firefighter has been reported.
Firefighters on Tres Lagunas also had hoped to conduct a planned burnout, but had to postpone it because of gusty winds.
“This burnout operation will be key to clearing up unburned fuel in that area and providing more protection for the Gallinas watershed, keeping the fire spread west of Forest Road 92,” according to the fire update.
There is concern that the fire could spread to the Gallinas watershed, the source of 90 percent of the city of Las Vegas’ water supply.
An additional 150 people were added to the effort to bring the Tres Lagunas Fire under control, bringing the total to 757.
New fire teams
Also Wednesday, Gov. Susana Martinez announced the arrival of three out-of-state strike teams to help if new fires break out. The teams will be positioned in Rio Rancho, Socorro and Las Vegas.
“They will be available to go anywhere,” said Dan Ware, spokesman for the New Mexico State Forestry division. “Because we have a lot of resources dedicated to the two fires, having these strike teams will really be a benefit.”
A crew from Wyoming was to arrive Wednesday, while teams from North Dakota and Oregon will be in New Mexico by today. In all, 38 crew members and 13 engines make up the teams.
Ware said State Forestry also boosted the number of its seasonal firefighters this year, adding nearly 50 to the 250 that are hired during a typical season.
Despite the dry conditions, Ware said New Mexico has had fewer fires so far this season. Nationally, fewer than 574 square miles have burned. That’s less than half the amount burned by this same time last year.
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6/5/
A Wildfire has broken out South of Quemado, NM, the Sawmill Canyon Fire.
