Mimbres, NM, July 5, 2019 – The Wilderness Ranger District, Gila National Forest will be open on Saturday, July 6 from 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. to provide accurate and up-to-date fire information on the four fires burning in the Aldo Leopold and Gila Wilderness areas.

Helicopter reconnaissance shows that these naturally-ignited fires are doing good things for the land. District Ranger Rachelle Huddleston-Lorton stated “the individual fires appear to be having low to moderate effects, cleaning up dead and down trees, and debris from previous fires, and reducing ladder and surface fuels. This is what we want to see – fire playing it’s natural role in the ecosystem.”

For information on the Gila National Forest, check out our website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/gila