Nearly 20,000 acres burned in wildfires across Gila National Forest
Jun. 13—Two wildfires on opposite ends of the Gila National Forest have torched more than 19,000 acres, prompting some highway closures and evacuations in southwestern New Mexico.
By Friday evening, neither the Trout Fire, burning north of Silver City, nor the lightning-caused Buck Fire, located southwest of Magdalena and Datil, had been contained since sparking the day before. The cause of the Trout Fire remains under investigation.
Here's the latest on both fires, provided by InciWeb, a wildfire information management system, and other officials.
Trout Fire
A wildfire had burned over 3,900 acres and forced a highway closure 12 miles north of Silver City. The fire grew from 500 acres on Thursday evening to 2,000 by Friday morning.
No one has been injured, and no structures have burned. The fire is burning in timber, brush and grass on both sides of N.M. 15 in the Sheep Corral and Meadow Creek areas, according to a statement from the Gila National Forest.
"The fire was under the influence of hot, dry, windy weather and did push east of Highway 15 into the upper Meadow Creek area," said Maribeth Pecotte, a spokesperson for the Gila National Forest.
N.M. 15 is closed where it intersects with N.M. 35, south of the Ben Lilly Memorial. An evacuation order from the Grant County Office of Emergency Management was issued Friday afternoon near the highways, and residents were asked to evacuate via N.M. 35 toward Mimbres.
Pecotte urged travelers to avoid the area if they do not have a home or business in the N.M. 15 corridor.
The Mimbres and Sapillo Creek valleys have been advised to prepare for the possibility of an evacuation, but Pecotte said it is up to the county to determine if and when evacuations will happen.
"Fire activity has calmed down a bit over time and has not produced a lot of smoke this morning, but we do expect the fire to continue growing as the day heats up, and relative humidity drops to single digits and winds pick up," Pecotte said.
Buck Fire
The fire, southeast of Aragon and south of Pelona Mountain, had torched 16,00 acres and forced an evacuation for Garcia Camp.
The fire moved onto private land and homes roughly 1 to 2 miles away are under threat, with power lines in the vicinity of the blaze.
No injuries have been reported.
The Continental Divide Trail south of N.M. 12 in Catron County has been impacted by the inferno, and Bureau of Land Management and fire officials have warned hikers to avoid that portion of the trail.
Hotter and drier conditions are expected throughout the weekend, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Anand.
"There is a chance for some showers and some dry thunderstorms down there this afternoon, so if any dry lightning strikes do impact that area, with the extreme drought conditions, that could lead to future fire starts," Anand said.
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