South Fork Fire, Salt Fire Update 6-25-24

Category: Non-Local News Releases Non-Local News Releases
Published: 25 June 2024 25 June 2024

Daily Update, Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Containment increases on the South Fork and Salt fires  

Mescalero Apache Tribe Emergency Operations Center: 575-464-9214 

Village of Ruidoso Emergency Operations Center: 575-464-9214 

Fire Information Phone: 575-323-8378 or 575-323-8258  

Media Information Phone: 575-323-8053 

Phone Line Hours: 8 am – 8 pm 

Email: 2024.southfork@firenet.gov 

Acres: South Fork – 17,556; Salt – 7,947

Start Date: June 17, 2024 

Location: South Fork – Ruidoso Area, Salt – 7 mile west of Mescalero, NM 

Personnel: 1,006

Containment: South Fork – 54%; Salt – 38% 

Fuels: mixed conifer, grass, pine/juniper  

Resources: The South Fork and Salt fires are currently staffed with 12 crews, 8 helicopters, 61 engines, 9 bulldozers, and 18 water tenders. 

Highlights: Containment on the South Fork and Salt fires increased as crews continue working hard to seek out and address residual heat sources across the fire area.  

Fire Activity: Fire activity has reduced significantly across the South Fork and Salt fires thanks to persistent scattered storms. While pockets of large, heavy, dead/downed fuels, snags, and stumps continue to smolder, growth potential along the perimeter will be very minimal.  

On Monday, scattered thunderstorms caused localized flooding again, but crews were still able to access many areas of the South Fork and Salt fires and made good progress on structural assessments and containment operations.  

Today, crews will focus on constructing direct control lines and mopping up hot spots where needed. Mop up will continue until full containment is reached, including removal of hazard trees and securing the fire perimeter. Additionally, crews will assist utility cooperators in gaining access to damaged areas to conduct assessments. 

Weather: The fire area experienced noticeably warmer conditions on Monday. Today, temperatures will remain in the high 80s with lower chances of isolated showers. Wednesday will bring more moisture and higher potential for scattered rains. 

Smoke: Smoke production will remain light to moderate on Monday. Additional details are available at https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/430b2c05   . 

Evacuations: No evacuations are in place. However, designated "NO ENTRY/EXCLUSION ZONES" remain in place in some areas of the village. Use www.lincolncountynm.gov  and www.ruidoso-nm.gov/south-fork-fire  or contact the Emergency Operations Centers for more information.  

Tribal members who have been displaced outside of the Mescalero Apache Reservation due to the fires are strongly encouraged to contact the Tribe's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to help you and your families get back to the reservation. If you're stranded out of town at other evacuation sites, please call the EOC at 575-464-9214 for more details. 

Closures: A South Fork Fire Emergency Closure Order was issued on June 20, 2024, for national forest lands within the Smokey Bear Ranger District. The identified areas, and roads and trails therein, are closed to public access to allow firefighting personnel to work and through the fire area safely. More information is available at www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/lincoln/alerts-notices/?aid=88199  .  

A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the fire area. Public/commercial drone flights are also prohibited within this area. If you fly, we may have to ground our air resources. Visit https://www.tfr.faa.gov  for more information. 

More information:  

Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmmea-south-fork-and-salt  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SWIMT5  

Smoke Outlook: https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/430b2c05 

Lincoln County Government: www.lincolncountynm.gov 

Mescalero Apache Tribe: https://mescaleroapachetribe.com   

Village of Ruidoso: www.ruidoso-nm.gov/south-fork-fire

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.