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100,000 acres burned by wildfires around Gila National Forest
Jun. 20—In 10 days, two wildfires around the Gila National Forest have burned over 100,000 acres, forced evacuations and spurred Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to sign an executive order declaring an emergency.
The blazes, the Buck Fire and Trout Fire, have drawn over 1,596 fire personnel, including roughly 42 New Mexico National Guardsmen and Kirtland Air Force Base airmen, to the southwestern forest to aid in fire suppression.
A damage assessment conducted by the Grant County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement has determined that two camping trailers and three structures have been damaged by the Trout Fire, north of Silver City, which has burned over 45,000 acres.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Roughly 2,000 people have been forced to evacuate from their homes. Power companies have been working to identify outages and restore service, said Stefan La-Sky, spokesperson for Southwest Incident Management Team 4.
For the first time since the Trout Fire ignited on June 10, firefighters have been able to establish a containment line of 11%.
"We're very happy about that, and it's a step in the right direction," La-Sky said. "Mother Nature gave us a little help... with southerly winds bringing in some cooler air and some moisture."
Southeast of the community of Aragon, the Buck Fire has burned over 57,000 acres in Catron County and was 71% contained as of Friday, according to New Mexico Fire Information. No one has been reported injured, and no structures have been damaged. A red flag warning was issued on Friday, and fire officials are watching the wind through the weekend.
As the fires raged on, residents in Ruidoso experienced a flash flood Thursday evening.
"We had some low water spots where we had water over the road, but as soon as the water had time to recede, we had crews stationed to remove debris," said Kelly Gladden, public information officer for the village of Ruidoso. "It was lower level, but it was not forecasted at all, so it kind of took us by surprise."
