EMNRD-Forestry Division
Southwest Area Incident Managements Team #1

Bea Day - Incident Commander

Lines Held Today, Containment at 66%

Acres: 36,740 acres (based on more accurate mapping) Percent Containment: 66%
Start Date: May 31, 2018, 2:10pm Cause: Unknown, under investigation
Jurisdiction: NM State Fuels: Grass, Pinyon Juniper, Mixed Conifer
Origin Location: Highway 64 in Ute Park, NM, between Eagle Nest Lake and Cimarron
Resources: 614 personnel including 15 crews, 8 helicopters, 26 engines, 6 bulldozers, 10 water tenders

Hotshot crews successfully held westward movement of the fire. Crews completed fireline from Ute Park to Cimarroncito Reservoir. Fire activity today was minimal with slow moving creeping and smoldering. Fire crews are patrolling and monitoring, to help ensure areas of remaining heat near the fire’s perimeter are cool.

Extensive cloud cover kept temperatures down as firefighters continued to put in direct fireline. Wind picked up in the afternoon, which created more heat inside the perimeter. Cimarron and surrounding communities may continue to see smoke. This is coming from the fire burning through pockets of previously unburned pinyon juniper, which does not pose a threat to the fire perimeter. Visible smoke will vary depending on sunshine, humidity and wind speeds.

On the northeast side of the fire, firefighters repaired dozer line and a helispot to help minimize long term impacts in these areas. Similar work will continue tomorrow around Cimarron and to the west.

The video from tonight’s community meeting in Eagle Nest is available on https://facebook.com/uteparkfireinfo .

Ute Park remains evacuated and State Highway 64 (between Eagle Nest Lake and Cimarron Canyon) remains closed for public safety. These areas will stay closed as firefighters continue to work with collaborators to mitigate and address concerns related to uncontained fire, unsafe road conditions, flash flooding, and firefighter safety. Road crews are using large equipment to install Jersey barriers along sections of Highway 64 to help catch rolling and flooding debris. In the Ute Park area, firefighters and cooperators are working along the roadway, chipping thinned vegetation, and need the highway closed to make room for their equipment and give them room to operate safely.

No homes have burned on the Ute Park Fire. A mandatory evacuation order for the community of Ute Park is still in place and 219 residences remain threatened. Structure protection measures are in place if needed, including hoselays and sprinklers. Fourteen outbuildings burned on the Philmont Scout Ranch on May 31.

Firefighters are working to suppress this fire where they can do so safely and effectively. Values at risk include public and firefighter safety, the community of Ute Park, the Philmont Scout Ranch, the Cimarroncito and Urraca Watersheds, Cimarron Canyon State Park, private lands, economic benefits from tourism and recreation in the area, and air quality.

Use the 5-3-1 visibility method to protect your health from smoke: https://bit.ly/2jJwwd7. Air Monitoring Resources are available at https://bit.ly/2tm1VG6 , https://bit.ly/2sqcLJ4 . A Smoke Forecast is available at https://bit.ly/2Jj0c98 .

The Red Cross is operating a shelter at the Eagle Nest Senior Center at 74 N. Tomboy Dr., Eagle Nest, NM.

Call 511 or visit http://nmroads.com/ for current road info. NM 204 is closed north and south of mile marker 0 to mile marker 10. US 64 remains closed eastbound and westbound from mile marker 287 to mile marker 309 at Cimarron.

Cimarron State Park remains closed. Eagle Nest Lake State Park is open.

Wildfires are a No Drone Zone. If you fly, we can’t. More info visit Know Before You Fly, http://knowbeforeyoufly.org 

Ute Park Fire Info: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5820/  (air quality info, maps, etc.) and http://nmfireinfo.com 
Colfax County Emergency Management Information: https://bit.ly/2LbNdXh 
Public Line: (505) 309-0751 (8 a.m. to 10 p.m.)