In a media release on Friday by the Southwest Area Incident Management Team, the South Fork fire burning in the Ruidoso area was at 16,349 acres while the Salt Fire burning 7 miles west of Mescalero was at 7,652 acres. Both fires have zero percent containment as of Friday morning as crews work to battle both fires. Officials reported that over 1,000 crew members are working to contain the fire.
On Thursday, rain and storms along with cooler weather and higher humidity helped firefighters on the ground, according to officials. However, flooding in the area remains a threat.
Mandatory evacuations remain in effect for the area near the South Fork and Salt Fires, according to officials. Evacuation information can be found at www.nmfireinfo.com.
Road closures:
Road and trail closures are still in effect throughout the area impacted by the fires, according to officials. A fire closure was issued Thursday for national forest lands within the Smokey Bear Ranger District. As of Friday morning, Highway 70 and Highway 48 at Apache Summit are closed. US 70 is closed from mm 249 (intersection NM 244). Also, State Highway 47 is closed from Alpine Village/University to State highway 2220. The open evacuation route is Highway 70 to Roswell.
Officials said in a media release that Utility services remain shutdown across the area impacted by the South Fork and Salt Fires. This shutdown has impacted communications to those in the area, according to officials.
Authorities say they have assessed damage and structure assessments and added structural protection where needed.
Officials say that a temporary Flight Restriction is also in place over the fire area and they added that drone flights are also prohibited within this area, because it may impact air resources needed to fight the fires.
Additional fire information:
Public Information Line: 575-323-8258
Phone Line Hours: 8 am – 8 pm
Email: 2024.southfork@firenet.gov
https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmmea-south-fork-and-salt
