Community Update June 8
Incident: Whitewater Baldy Complex Wildfire
Released: 6/8/2012
June 8, 2012
Whitewater-Baldy Complex
Community Update
Southwest Area Type 1 Incident Management Team
Incident Commander: Tony Sciacca
Fire Information: 575-533-6901, 575-533-6053 (Daily from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.)
Email: whitewaterfire@gmail.com
Website: http://inciweb.org/incident/2870/
Flickr (photos and maps): http://www.flickr.com/photos/gilaforest
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SWIMT1 and www.twitter.com/gilaforestPAO
Fire Facts:
Date Started: 05/16/2012
Number of Personnel: 887 including
Cause: Lightning
10 hotshot crews, 6 hand crews
Size: 270,722 acres
Equipment: 35 engines, 27 Water Tenders, 4 Dozers
Percent Contained: 30
Aircraft: 10 Helicopters
Crews continued to burn out where needed in the east and west/southwest portions of the fire boundary. Squads also patrolled for hotspots and mopped-up as needed in the vicinity south of Mogollon.
Firefighters are aggressively working to solidify fire lines along the west and east boundaries. These efforts are in preparation for strong winds over the weekend. Aerial ignitions and burn out operations will take place southwest of Double Springs Ranch and northwest of Johnson's Cabin. Squads will be standing by to hold and mop up after ignitions.
Overall, fire suppression tactics have been successful and fire managers will slowly start to downsize the number of firefighters and fire resources. A contingency of fire personnel will be standing by for initial attack should weather become more active or we have new fire starts in the vicinity.
In Mogollon, the Catron County Sheriff's Office lifted the evacuation order. Residents should be cautious when driving in the area.
If you are planning to visit the forest, Stage 1 Fire Restrictions are in effect. Additional closures are still are in effect in several areas; please go to the Gila National Forest website at www.fs.usda.gov/gila for current information or contact the Forest directly at 575-388-8201.
