June 19, 9 AM- Firefighter Continue Burnout Operations Today
Incident: Little Bear Fire Wildfire
Released: 6/19/2012
Fire Information: (575)258-6900
Little Bear Fire June 19, 2012 - 9 a.m.
Firefighters Continue Burnout Operation Today
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. 39,458 acres
Containment: 60 %
Resources Committed: Personnel: 981; crews: 9 Type 1, 11 Type 2; engines: 60; helicopters: 4 Type 1; 2 Type 2; 2 Type 3; dozers: 2; water tenders: 15
Today's weather: 76-90 degrees, relative humidity 7-13%, wind WSW 17-23 mph gusting to 30 mph
Injuries: 5
Structures destroyed: 254 (242 residential & commercial structures and 12 outbuildings)
Road Closures: NM 532 (Ski Run Road) at the softball complex near NM 48 junction is open to residents only
Area Closures: The entire White Mountain Wilderness, and that portion of the Smokey Bear 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: Crews began burning out fuel inside the containment line north and west of Rio Bonito subdivision yesterday. Black line is now in place as far south as Argentina Spring. Crews plan to finish black lining today, tying in with containment line near White Horse Hill. Fuels will be ignited by both ground and aerial ignition. The burnout is low intensity fire intended to consume understory vegetation, robbing the fire of fuel. Fire is expected to be more active, with more visible smoke this afternoon, as a drying trend continues. Burnout will continue for a few more days within the White Mountain Wilderness, depending on weather. Activity on the remainder of the fire will consist of patrol and mop up, and rehabilitation in all divisions. Release of excess resources continues, making these resources available for other assignments.
All subdivisions except Angus and Bonita Park are now open. Ski Run Road and Bonita Lake are open to residents only. Residents returning to their homes should be alert for fire vehicle traffic and damaged roads.
The Village of Ruidoso wants everyone to know that, despite the fire activity, it is open for business. See the following websites: http://www.discoverruidoso.com/,http://www.ruidoso.net/, and http://www.ruidosonow.com/
Evacuations: All campgrounds west of Bonito Lake; Angus and Bonita Park
Shelters: 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 (575-257-9841 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).
Many residents of the community have expressed interest in making monetary donations to the firefighting organizations. Local fire departments should be considered first. Additionally, the following websites provide avenues for making donations: http://www.wffoundation.org/, and http://www.redcrossnewmexico.org/.
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. Additional websites for accurate fire information are Facebook.com/LittleBearFireNM, Twitter.com/T1SWIMT, Flickr.com.photos.lincolnnationalforest (maps), and Flickr.com/photos/wildland-fires-2012/ (photos).
As the monsoons approach, heavy rainfall may produce flash floods. The National Weather Service Advisories are available at: http://www.weather.gov/abq.
A predictive model for probability of thunderstorms over burned areas, known as Burn Scar Thunderstorm Threat Matrix, is available at: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/images/fxc/abq/graphicast/image full5.gif. Register for Lincoln County CodeRED Emergency Alerts at http://www.lincolncountynm.net/.
