Final Update - Four Mile Fire and Sand Springs Fire – Mount Taylor Ranger District 081226

Final Update

Four Mile Fire – Mount Taylor Ranger District

Sand Springs Fire – Mountainair Ranger District

Albuquerque, NM – August 12, 2026

Mount Taylor Ranger District- Zuni Mountains: Four Mile Fire (Final Update)

Reported Date / Time: August 9, 2026 / 1528             

Cause: Lightning.                             Size: 16 acres.                                                                 Containment:70%

Location: Northwest Zuni Mountains, south of Jamestown and I-40, southeast of Fort Wingate, and north of McGaffey on the Mount Taylor Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest. 

Resources on scene: U.S. Forest Service. 

Fire Behavior: Low.       Fuels: Piñon-juniper and grass.                

Operations: Firefighters continue to reinforce containment and mop-up interior using hand tools to turn over soil and smother embers to cool hot spots and prevent reignition.

Residual Smoke: Smoke may be visible south of I-40, Jamestown, Thoreau, west of Bluewater and surrounding areas of northwest Zuni Mountains. 

Mountainair Ranger District- Manzano Mountain Wilderness: Sand Springs Fire (Final Update)

Reported Date / Time: July 31, 2026 / 1538.

Cause: Lightning.                             Size: 15 acres.                                                                 Containment:80%

Location: Steep terrain north of Osha Peak, south of Capilla Peak and west of the Manzano Crest Trail in the Manzano Mountain Wilderness within the Mountainair Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest.

Resources on scene: U.S. Forest Service. 

Fire Behavior: Low.       Fuels: Timber and dead & down.

Operations: Firefighters continue to reinforce containment and mop-up. Acreage reduction due to more accurate ground mapping. 

Residual Smoke may be visible from Mountainair, Manzano, Punta de Agua, Torreon and westside of Manzano Mountains. 

This will be the final update on these fires unless conditions or the situation warrants additional information.

Weather forecast for Albuquerque, NM (August 12, 2026) Today: Scattered rain before 3pm, then isolated showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Sunny and hot, with a high near 98. Light west wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Tonight: Isolated showers and thunderstorms before 9pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Thursday (August 13, 2026) Isolated showers and thunderstorms after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.https://www.weather.gov/

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