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://
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-
(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/
Lincoln County CodeRED Emergency Alerts at http://www.lincolncountynm.
(See attached file: LittleBearFirenewsrelease6_
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Little Bear Fire Information
Inciweb.org/incident/2903/
NMFireInfo.com
Facebook.com/LittleBearFireNM
Twitter.com/T1SWIMT
Flickr.com.photos.
Flickr.com/photos/wildland-
Little Bear Fire Info Call Center – 575-258-6900 (7am -7 pm)
Media Duty Officer - 505-235-4213 (7am - 10pm)
Health Related Questions About Smoke – 1-877-304-4161 (24 hr / 7 days a
week)
Mental Health Support for Wildfire Victims – 866-342-6892 (24 hr / 7 days a
week)