Preventive Measures Lessen Chance of Additional Fires in the Forest

Acres: 38,812
Start Date: May 22, 2018
Cause: Human-caused
Location: 10 miles NE of Reserve, NM (Gila NF)
Containment: 49%
Fuels: Timber (litter, grass, and understory)
Total personnel: 577

General Information: As a result of fire danger raising to extreme, the Gila National Forest has implemented Stage 2 Fire Restrictions. The preventive measures outlined in the restrictions limit actions that could cause fires. The Buzzard Fire area has had minimal growth in the last 24 hours due to the hard work of fire crews performing burning operations.

Fire Operations: Uncontained fire remains on the west side of Eagle Peak. Due to steep terrain and lack of road access in this area, crews are monitoring the fire as it progresses to lower elevations where it will eventually be starved for fuel. Crews on the north side of the fire are continuing suppression repair efforts on constructed fireline. Control lines around the remainder of the fire have held and remain secure.

Fire Safety Awareness: What do Stage 2 restrictions mean for individuals using the forest? The restrictions prohibit building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire, charcoal, coal or wood stove. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle, building, or developed recreation area, is prohibited unless you are standing in a 3-foot diameter cleared of burnable vegetation. Operating any internal combustible engine, including chainsaws, is restricted during the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. For more information on current fire restrictions, please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/gila/alerts-notices/?aid=46143 .

Fire Weather: Today and Thursday will be the hottest days so far on this incident with continued dry afternoons, breezy winds, and poor morning relative humidity recoveries. A slow push of modest moisture will move into the area on Friday, which will bring a chance for afternoon isolated showers and thunderstorms through at least Saturday. Temperatures for today will reach the mid-80’s with lows dipping to 47-52 degrees in the valleys.

Closures: The area around the fire remains closed for public safety. Roadblocks have been set up by local law enforcement. In support of this closure, the Continental Divide Trail has been rerouted around the fire closures. The trail reroute map is available at https://bit.ly/2GRESFw . More closure information is available at https://bit.ly/2LvwKhN .

Smoke Situation: As the fire slowly backs through old burn scars toward containment lines, only moderate amounts of smoke are expected, causing minor impacts to the majority of populated areas. Ranches to the south and the down-drainage area near Reserve will continue to experience the late night and early morning impacts they have been receiving over the last 10 days. Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures. For more information on air quality and health impacts due to wildfire smoke, please visit the New Mexico Department of Health website at https://nmtracking.org/fire. Smoke concentration data is available at: https://tools.airfire.org/monitoring/v4 .

Fire Information Links: Fire information can be found at nmfireinfo.com and https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5814/ .
For information on the Gila National Forest, please visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/gila .

Fire Information: (602) 529-5924
Office Hours: 8:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.
InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5814/ 
Email: buzzardfireinfo2018@gmail.com