Latest news with #CampFire
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Community creates copter care packages for people defending Little Bear Lake, Sask.
It took some sweet-talking, but Marlene Barzeele and her band of helpers managed to airlift a huge load of donated food into Little Bear Lake to feed the small crew of people who are protecting 150 homes and cabins from wildfire. Barzeele said seeing the helicopter take flight might have been the first time she has felt joy since leaving her husband of 43 years behind so he could to defend their house and community last Thursday. "It's been agonizing knowing that he's there. And I wished that I stayed, but he insisted that I leave. So that's why we had to figure out a way to help," she said. Marlene's husband Bill Barzeele, 72, is the oldest among the small team of volunteers who stayed at Little Bear Lake, 140 kilometres northeast of Prince Albert, as the unpredictable and aggressive Shoe Fire burned dangerously close. The men patrol the perimeter, douse hotspots and pump water onto properties. "My husband is with the other people who are working to keep those hoses and pumps working at people's docks just to make sure that yards are wet," she said. WATCH | Property owners douse hot spots and build firebreaks at Little Bear Lake: People also removed flammable materials, like propane tanks. "They're like bombs when they overheat," said Marlene's daughter, Heather Arsenie. "That was an incredibly smart thing to do." The volunteers have been joined by some professional firefighters, helicopters, heavy equipment operators and other contractors employed by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA). The Delta Company has installed sprinklers on every cabin. The Shoe Fire, which started on May 7, merged with the Camp Fire and has grown to more than 2016,000 hectares. This week, it burned dozens of homes and cabins at East Trout Lake. The wildfire continues to split and morph, fuelled by wind, moving around the lake, jumping a fire guard, even threatening the landing strip. "It's miraculous that the community has been saved to this point," she said. Food delivery by air Marlene, now staying with her daughter in Melfort, receives daily reports from Bill from the front lines and shares them with others. The Barzeele family has owned property at Little Bear since 1981, and she and her husband have lived there full-time since 2006. Feeling helpless, and concerned that food was running low, Marlene posted on Facebook on Tuesday that she wanted to organize a food hamper delivery for people protecting their community. She was flooded with e-transfers and donations from people who have connections to the lake, including frequent campers, cabin owners, and even grandchildren of cabin owners who have fond memories of childhoods at the lake. Marlene and her helpers ordered individually wrapped sandwiches, and bought snacks and other ready-to-eat food items. They picked up donations from business owners who have cabins at the lake, like Sauder's Home Hardware in Melfort. "I really don't want to take credit because there have been so many donations from everyone. It's overwhelming," she said. But getting the food hamper into the community would be another challenge. All roads were closed due to fire. "We were told that only contractors listed with SPSA were allowed to go through the roadblock," she said. After some discussion and phone calls at the roadblock, they were allowed to go to the helicopter pad. They got the food in the air, then delivered to the Little Bear Lake store and distributed to workers. WATCH | Food airlifted to Little Bear Lake by helicopter: On Friday, the group posted that it was sending their fourth load of food and drinks up. It had spent nearly $5,000 on supplies so far, and more e-transfers were still coming in. "Even more inspiring, we're also sending a separate load dedicated to our brave neighbours in Moosehorn, standing strong through challenging times. Let's continue to show them what community spirit looks like!" Arsenie posted on Facebook.. As of early Friday morning, a lot of forest had burned around Little Bear Lake, but no cabins had been destroyed. Marlene, who admitted she's been crying and stressed, was reluctant to do an interview, but agreed to speak with CBC News because she wants to shine a light on the bravery of people who are working so hard to defend the community, and to ask for more supplies and more firefighting resources.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Camp Fire remains at 877 acres, now 76% contained
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Camp Fire burning near Fort Stanton in Lincoln County, New Mexico, remains at 877 acres with an increase in containment of 76 percent, fire officials said on Thursday, May 29, in a news release. Camp Fire in Lincoln County now 70% contained The brush fire ignited on Sunday, May 25, but the cause has not been determined. Fort Stanton is about 30 miles northeast of Ruidoso. The New Mexico State Forestry Division said that command of the fire, which started on Sunday, will transfer from the Pecos Zone Type-3 Incident Command Team to the Bureau of Land Management on Friday, May 30. On Thursday, it rained in the fire area, which is helping to extinguish any remaining hot spots, the Forestry Division said. The Forestry Division said containment continues to increase, and firefighters will continue to patrol and monitor the area for several more days. The following list shows closed and reopened areas near the fire, according to the Forestry Division: Open Highway 220 Fort Stanton Cave Campground The Fort Stanton Historical Site Rob Jaggers Campground Closed West Mesa Road, Red Tank Road and associate dispersed camping areas The surrounding BLM land will remain closed as crews continue their work in the area Closed Trails Fort Stanton North Trail Fort Stanton South Trail Deer Valley Trail Kit Carson Loop Rio Bonito Trail Pershing Trail Mustang Trail Antelope Gap Trail Elk Meadow Trail Skyline Trail Capitan Overlook Trail Buffalo Soldier Trail Open Trails Trails on the east side of Highway 220 are open. This includes: Homestead Trail and Trail Access Loop East Mesa Trail Cave Canyon Trail East Well Trail Zamora Trail Cedar Crest Trail Lincoln Trail In addition, BLM Roswell District, Lincoln County, and the NM Forestry Division are all under fire restrictions or a burn ban. Campfires of any kind (wood, charcoal, wood stoves), chainsaw use, smoking outdoors, operating motorized vehicles off designated roads, and outdoor welding are all prohibited, the Forestry Division said. For more fire restrictions information visit here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Camp Fire in Lincoln County now 70% contained
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Fire crews continue efforts to battle a brush fire burning near Fort Stanton in Lincoln County, New Mexico, which is now at 877 acres with 70 percent containment, the New Mexico State Forestry Division announced on Wednesday, May 28. The Camp Fire ignited on Sunday, May 25, but the cause has not been determined. Fort Stanton is about 30 miles northeast of Ruidoso. The Forestry Division said containment continues to increase as crews make progress on securing the fire line. The fire has not spread for several days. However, after more accurate GIS mapping the total burned acres is now 877, the Forestry Division said. The Forestry Division said crews continue to identify and put out areas of the fire that are smoldering. Fort Stanton Historical Site personnel have begun assessments of the damaged areas. Two wooden buildings in the internment camp area of the site were completely burned, the Forestry Division said. The Forestry Division said a third building, a gymnasium built in the 1940s, was also affected. The roof of the gymnasium, which had collapsed previously in the 1990s, was consumed by the fire. However, the walls, which are made of adobe and concrete, are still standing. The fire did not affect the main grounds of the site. The following list shows closed and reopened areas near the fire, according to the Forestry Division: Open: Highway 220- Use caution in the Fort Stanton area as firefighters are still working in the area. Fort Stanton Cave Campground Opening Thursday, May 29: The Fort Stanton Historical Site Rob Jaggers Campground Closed: West Mesa Road, Red Tank Road and associate dispersed camping areas The surrounding BLM land will remain closed as crews continue their work in the area Closed Trails: Fort Stanton North Trail Fort Stanton South Trail Deer Valley Trail Kit Carson Loop Rio Bonito Trail Pershing Trail Mustang Trail Antelope Gap Trail Elk Meadow Trail Skyline Trail Capitan Overlook Trail Buffalo Soldier Trail Open Trails: Trails on the east side of Highway 220 are open, including: Homestead Trail and Trail Access Loop East Mesa Trail Cave Canyon Trail East Well Trail Zamora Trail Cedar Crest Trail Lincoln Trail The BLM Roswell District, Lincoln County, and the NM Forestry Division are all under fire restrictions or a burn ban. Campfires of any kind (wood, charcoal, wood stoves), chainsaw use, smoking outdoors, operating motorized vehicles off designated roads, and outdoor welding are all prohibited. Fire restrictions information: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Officials speak on wildfire that damaged Fort Stanton Historic Site
RUIDOSO, N.M. (KRQE) – A Wildfire burning near Ruidoso has now left its mark on a major piece of New Mexico history, destroying and damaging buildings at one of the oldest military forts in the country. 'The good news is that the majority of the site is intact,' said Oliver Horn, New Mexico Historic Sites, Lincoln/Fort Stanton Regional Manager. Story continues below Don't Miss: Body of airman recovered at Elephant Butte Lake, Kirtland Air Force Base says Weather: When does monsoon season start in NM? What you can expect this summer? Crime: Man reflects on YouTube after family killed by younger brother in NE ABQ But after burning structures built during World War II, the Camp Fire has now left destruction at one of New Mexico's most historic military sites. 'And so, the fire essentially swept through the internment camp, and so, we lost two wood structures from the CCC, what we think are from the original CCC camp,' said Horn. Sunday afternoon, the blaze ripped through two wooden buildings on the northwest part of the property outside of Capitan. Those include an old residence and an old bowling alley, both built in the 1940s near areas where German sailors were held in internment camps. 'The firefighters, the incident commanders, incident response team, they were able to channel the fire away from the main site and on the northern side of the Rio Benito river,' said Horn. With buildings dating back to 1855, Fort Stanton is among the largest, oldest, and most intact military forts in the country and one of the best preserved in New Mexico. The 240-acre property has nearly 90 buildings on it, most of which the wildfire didn't touch. 'However, the other remaining features over there survived, and so, some of them, you know, the key ones are, there's a guardhouse. So, all of these are a combination of concrete and adobe structures. So, they're fire resistant, and so the guardhouse survived,' said Horn. The state Department of Cultural Affairs documented and photographed all the buildings on the site in the last few years, which is something they'll use for visitors now as a reminder of what's been lost. 'We lost some historic structures that we cannot replace,' said Horn. Fort Stanton remains closed until further notice because crews also need to replace a damaged water pumping system. They're also working on a continued project to remove all invasive species in the area while looking to replace some of the building roofs on the site with more fire-resistant materials. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Camp Fire in Lincoln County now 47% contained
Editor's note: Video is from a special report on how Ruidoso is rebuilding after devastating fires and flooding in summer 2024. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Fire crews made 'significant progress' in battling the Camp Fire on Tuesday, May 27, officials with the New Mexico Forestry Division said. The fire remains at 720 acres but is now 47 percent contained, officials said. The fire started on Sunday, and the cause remains under investigation. The fire is burning in the Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area in Lincoln County, New Mexico. Helping the approximate 150 firefighters was a light rain that fell on Tuesday afternoon. Four structures, including three historic ones at Fort Stanton, have been damaged in the fire. There are 52 miles of cave passages that run below the fire area and beyond. U.S. Bureau of Land Management specialists have determined that none of the caves have been damaged by the fire, officials with the Forestry Division said. Fort Stanton remains closed. It is slated to reopen at 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 29. The Rob Jaggers Campground and the Rio Bonito and West Mesa Road dispersed camping areas are closed and will remain closed until firefighting efforts have ended. Highway 220 will reopen on Wednesday morning. The BLM Roswell District, Lincoln County and the NM Forestry Division are all under fire restrictions or a burn ban. Campfires of any kind (wood, charcoal, wood stoves), chainsaw use, smoking outdoors, operating motorized vehicles off designated roads and outdoor welding are all prohibited. Minimal smoke was visible from the fire on Tuesday. Fire restrictions information: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
