June 21, 9pm - Hold and Improve
Incident: Little Bear Fire Wildfire
Released: 6/21/2012
Fire Information: (575) 258-6900
Little Bear Fire June 21, 2012 - 9 p.m.
Hold and Improve
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. 42,980 acres
Containment: 75 %
Resources Committed: Personnel: 844; crews: 7 Type 1, 10 Type 2; engines: 50; helicopters: 3 Type 1, 2 Type 2, 2 Type 3; dozers: 5; water tenders: 12
Today's weather: 72-84 degrees, relative humidity 30-35%, wind S 18-22 mph gusting to 35 mph
Total Injuries to Date: 5
Structures destroyed: 254 (242 residential & commercial structures and 12 outbuildings)
Road Closures: NM 532 (Ski Run Road) west from the softball complex near NM 48 junction, and Forest Road 107 are open to residents only
Area Closures: Portions of the Smokey Bear Ranger District to re-open. The southern portion of the Smokey Bear Ranger District closed during the fire is now open. The area south of the Ski Run Road and on both sides of Highway 70 from Ruidoso to the forest boundary near Glencoe is now open for use. This includes areas known as
Cedar Creek, Gavilan Ridge, Little Creek, Eagle Creek, Devil's Canyon and Hale Lake
Area closures include:
- All access to the Bonito Recreation Corridor off of FS Road 107 and 108 which includes established and dispersed campgrounds, hiking trails and trail heads.
- All access off of Hwy 532 (Ski Run Road) which includes Monjeau Lookout Road, Spring Canyon Trailhead, Eagle Creek FS Road 127A, Oakgrove Campground, and Buck Mountain.
- Three Rivers Campground and Trail 44 off of Hwy 54.
For additional details about closures, contact the Smokey Bear Ranger District at 575-257-4095.
Hold and improve were the watchwords of the day. Joe Reinarz's Type 1 Incident Management team will transition with the Pecos Zone Type 3 Incident Management team on Friday.
Summary: Very little fire movement was seen today because of increased humidity. The burn out is complete around the Rio Bonito subdivision and Runnel's Stables. Significant progress was made regarding mop up and rehabilitation throughout the entire fire. Release of excess resources continues, making these resources available for other assignments.
Angus, Bonita Park, Ski Run Road, and Bonita Lake are open to residents only. All other subdivisions are open. 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
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: www.wffoundation.org, and 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/.
