Detected: Monday, June 4, 2012
Location: Smokey Bear Ranger District, Lincoln NF Fuel Type: Mixed Conifer, Ponderosa Pine
Cause: Lightning
Today’s weather: Temp: 73-88, RH: 16 % -26 %, Winds: WNW 10 – 15 gusts to 25
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. Due to previous closure orders, the North side of Cedar Creek and Grindstone area will remain closed.
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. These closures are in effect to ensure firefighter and public safety until suppression and rehabilitation efforts have been completed within the burned area.
All roads accessing private land within the Little Bear Fire area are now open. Some roads accessing the Lincoln National Forest remain closed. These include NM 532 (Ski Run Road) west from the softball complex near NM 48 junction and Forest Road 107 above Bonito Dam (a permit from the Forest Service is required to access this area.). These permits will not supersede evacuation orders from with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s or Ruidoso Police Departments when flooding occurs.
For additional details about closures, contact the Smokey Bear Ranger District at575-257-4095.
Summary: Rehabilitation efforts on the fire perimeter were completed today. The remainder of the dozerline has been reseeded and brought back to a more natural state. Buck Mountain Road continues to be closed due to the removal of hazard trees. Portions of the fire received a small amount of rain in the southern end. Flooding is still a possibility along areas of Bonito Creek with thunderstorms and showers predicted for the next couple of days. When in an area that has been damaged, especially near drainages, if thunder cells build, rain is falling or imminent please immediately leave the area and seek higher ground for safety. Heavy demobilization of resources is occurring in preparation of transition back to a local Type 3 Incident Commander.
Resources Committed:
Crews | 3 |
Engines | 12 |
Dozers | 0 |
Helicopters | 2 |
Watertenders | 2 |
Total Personnel | 215 |
The Village of Ruidoso wants everyone to know that, despite the fire activity, it is open for business. See the following websites: www.discoverruidoso.com/,www.ruidoso.net/ , and www.ruidosonow.com/
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, andwww.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_
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/
Little Bear Fire Information
Inciweb.org/incident/2903/
NMFireInfo.com
Facebook.com/LittleBearFireNM
Twitter.com/T1SWIMT
Flickr.com.photos.
Flickr.com.photos.
Ruidoso Fire Info Center – 575-258-6900 (7am - 7pm)
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)