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Northern New Mexico Type 3 Incident Management Team takes over the Black Feather Fire

SANTA FE, NM, Aug. 7, 2023 – The Northern New Mexico Type 3 Incident Management Team took command of the Black Feather Fire at 6:00 am Monday, August 7, 2023. The team will be working closely with New Mexico State Police, Rio Arriba Sherriff’s Office, New Mexico Livestock Board and US Forest Service Law Enforcement Officers to coordinate the NM Ready, Set, Go evacuation notification system for the communities immediately effected by the Black Feather Fire. A Type 1 Incident Management Team is currently enroute to the fire and will take command in the next few days.

Currently the community of Wetherill has been placed in ‘Ready’ status, and the communities of Mesa Pinebetal, and Mesa Poleo have been placed in ‘Set’ status. The incident management team and law enforcement have established coordinated trigger points to evacuate communities in a timely manner. The Coyote Senior Center will be set up as an evacuation center and livestock can be taken to the Rio Arriba Rural Event Center near Abiquiu. The Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office is coordinating evacuations. More info is available on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079688263048

The Santa Fe National Forest is working on an area closure for the area surrounding the fire. People are strongly discouraged from unnecessary travel on the entire Forest Road 103, which connects NM 96 to NM 126, and people are strongly discouraged from using the continental divide trail along the San Pedro Parks Wilderness section.

The 2000+ acre Black Feather Fire is located about 44 miles northwest of Santa Fe, and approximately 9 miles south of Gallina New Mexico in the San Pedro Parks Wilderness on the Coyote Ranger District. The fire is being driven to the northeast by winds toward Mesa Poleo and Mesa Pinebetal. The lightning-caused fire started Saturday, Aug. 5, near the Peñas Negras trail and is being managed with a full suppression response.

Numerous aircraft are assigned to the incident including five large air tankers (LATs), one very large air tanker (VLAT), helicopters, air attack, and a lead plane.  In addition, several hotshot crews have been ordered.

With hot, dry, windy weather in the forecast, fire managers are expecting very active fire behavior over the next several days. Air quality information is available at https://www.airnow.gov/

This is an emerging incident, and more information will be provided as it becomes available. Please check the Santa Fe National Forest website: www.fs.usda.gov/santafe, Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/santafeNF/ and NMfireinfo: NM Fire Info | New Mexico Fire Information.