Single Publication

Update: Today's mission focused on air and ground operations. The Southwest Complex Incident Team is enroute and will transition Sunday.

There is a new closure order issued by the Lincoln National Forest, Smokey Bear District. The restricted area is National Forest System lands, roads, and trails within and around the Smokey Bear District on the Lincoln National Forest. The western boundary of the Restricted Area is located at the junction of National Forest Service Road (NFSR) 400 and NFSR 108 Tanbark, NFSR 108 Tanbark to NFSR 107, NFSR 107 to Big Bonito trail #36 to the junction of Aspen Trail # 35, Aspen Trial #35 to the junction of Crest Trail #25, Crest Trail #25 to the junction of Trail # 78, Trail #78 to the Forest Boundary. The Southern boundary is the Forest Boundary from trail# 78 going east for approximately 4.75 miles, then due north for approximately 1/10 of a mile to road 532, road 532 east to the Forest Service Boundary. The eastern boundary is the Forest Service Boundary due north approximately 9 miles north to NFSR 400. The northern boundary is NFSR 400 west to the junction of NFSR 108 Tanbark Canyon, the junction of Rodamaker Trail# 20 along NFSR 107 to the Big Bonito trail #36. The purpose of this Order is to protect the safety of firefighter personnel and the public as firefighters engage in suppression tactics on the Blue 2 wildfire.

This Order shall be in effect from May 23, 2024, at 12:01 a.m. through 23 August 2024, at 12:01 p.m., unless rescinded. 2. A map identifying the Described Area is linked below.

Lincoln County has declared a state of disaster to ensure resource availability and has activated an Emergency Contact Center: (575) 336-8600. Emergency shelter is located at the Capitan Fairground and also has capability to house animals. Lincoln County Fire Service advises citizens to sign up for CodeRed (see link below) even if you are not impacted by this fire, it is an important resource for local residents.

Current Evacuations issued by the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office are under effect for Bonito Lake Rd, Forest Service Road 108, and Forest Service Road 107. At this time, the Angus Area, Villa Madonna, Sierra Vista & Sun Valley subdivisions on the west side of Hwy48 should also be ready for evacuations. Operations Emergency Services has established an evacuation reception center at the Capitan Fairgrounds.

Please keep 911 open and available for emergencies.

The public townhall meeting will be added to our incident Facebook page.

Start Date I Time: May 17, 2024, approximately 3:45 p.m.

Cause: Lightning

Size: Blue 2 Fire: Estimated 3,300

Location: White Mountain Wilderness 

Resources: 88 Personnel, more EnRoute

Vegetation/Fuels: Dead and dead/down trees

Containment: 0%

Tactic: Full Suppression

Smoke: Moderate / Wind Influenced Smoke

Evacuation: Go Now: Bonito Lake Road, Forest Service Road 108, Forest Service Road 107

Be Set: Villa Madonna Subdivision, Sierra Vista Subdivision, Sun Valley Subdivision

Be Ready: Angus Area

Shelters: Lincoln County Fairgrounds/ 101 5th St. Capitan NM 88316

Animal Shelters: Humane Society of Lincoln County/ 25962 US Hwy 70 Ruidoso NM 88345 

Area Closures: Part of White Mountain Wilderness Area, See attached map for more details.

More Information:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LincolnNationalForest NM Fire Info: www.NMFirelnfo.com

lnciWeb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmlnf-blue-2-fire Lincoln County CodeRed: bit.ly/4bwMk8n

New Closure Order Map: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/lincoln/alerts-notices.