June 14, 9pm - Firefighters Continue to Increase Containment
Incident: Little Bear Fire Wildfire
Released: 6/14/2012
Fire Information: (575)258-6900
Little Bear Fire June 14, 2012 - 9 p.m.
Firefighters Continue to Increase Containment
Start Time/Date:Monday, June 4, 2012
Location: Smokey Bear Ranger District, Lincoln NF, including White Mountain Wilderness
Cause: Lightning
Fuels: Mixed conifer, ponderosa pine
Size: approx. 37,885 acres
Containment: 45 %
Resources Committed: Personnel: 1,449; crews: 12 Type 1, 25 Type 2; engines: 85; helicopters: 9 Type 1, 2 Type 2, 2 Type 3; dozers: 16; water tenders: 23
Injuries: 2 (heat related illness)
Today's Weather: 84 degrees, relative humidity 9%, wind SW 10-20 mph gusting to 30 mph
Structures destroyed: 234 (224 residential structures and 10 outbuildings)
Road Closures: NM 532 (Ski Run Road) at NM 48 junction, east and west; NM 37 from mile marker 0 to mile marker 8 North and south. NM 48 has been reopened for through traffic.
Area Closures: The entire White Mountain Wilderness, and that portion of the Smokey Bear Ranger District south of US 380 to the Mescalero Apache Reservation boundary, including a large area east and north of Ruidoso to the south boundary of the Fort Stanton Recreation Area.
Summary: Weather conditions combined with very low fuel moisture created very active fire behavior today. Slope driven runs and group tree torching were observed in interior islands of previously unburned fuel. Indirect line construction continued on the north and west flanks, with support from helicopter water drops. Line improvement will continue tomorrow on the west side in preparation for a burnout operation as soon as conditions permit. On the north side of the fire, direct and indirect line construction was completed. On the northeastern flank, a burnout is in progress along Grapevine Canyon, and will be finished this evening. Patrol and mop up will continue on the east and southeastern perimeters.
Re-entry into some neighborhoods has begun, and residents returning to their homes should be alert for fire vehicle traffic. Tomorrow, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office will continue notifying owners of homes in burned over areas of the status of their property. Owners of property within the subdivisions of Enchanted Forest, Peebles Road area, Wapiti Way, and Valley Heights are asked to come to the Lincoln County Annex, 115 Kansas City Drive, Ruidoso between 7:00 a.m. and noon on June 15, 2012.
Meetings: Community meetings were conducted in the main gymnasium of Ruidoso High School, 125 Warrior Road at 4:30 p.m., and at 7:00 p.m. A community meeting was also conducted at the fairgrounds in Capitan at 7:00 p.m.
Evacuations: All campgrounds west of Bonito Lake; subdivisions of Villa Madonna, Enchanted Forest, Nogal Canyon (Forest Road 400, campground and summer homes), Angus, Sierra Vista, Copper Canyon, Loma Grande, Eagle Lakes Campground, and Eagle Creek summer homes. Evacuees may contact either Alto (336-4341) or Nogal ( 354-2548) post offices for mail pick up.
Shelters: Ruidoso High School at 125 Warrior Road, and Trinity Baptist Church in Capitan. Pets and livestock may be taken to Pet Paradise in La Luz (575-434-1784), Otero County fairgrounds in Alamogordo (575-434-0788, 575-491-7553, or 575-491-4643), Lincoln County fairgrounds in Capitan (575-808-2814), Humane Society of Lincoln County in Ruidoso (575-257-9814 or 575-378-1039), Ruidoso Animal Clinic (575-257-4027), Dunagan Farms in Ruidoso (575-257-9549 or 575-621-4056), New Mexico Livestock Board (575-649-2758), Carrizozo Animal Shelter (575-648-2351), Thundering Paws in Alto (575-336-7297), and Yolanda and Robert Espinoza (575-354-9019).
Information on wildland fire smoke and your health can be found on the New Mexico Department of Health's website at: https://nmtracking.unm.edu/eh alerts/, or call the New Mexico statewide health line at (877)304-4161.
