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Significant moisture in the fire perimeter halting fire suppression activities

Highlights: Wildland fire suppression and suppression repair are dynamic endeavors. The safety of workers, the availability of specialized equipment and favorable weather can all impact the pace at which repairs are completed. Incident management teams assigned to the Calf Canyon incident have worked diligently to complete fire suppression repair actions in many areas across the fire area, including successfully assessing and closing out over 646 miles of fire suppression line, with 20% of that total completed in the past 10 days under the command of Team 5.

Operations: Yesterday, reseeding occurred in the Rociada area before rain and potential flooding forced crews out of the area. The dozer line southwest of Sipapu ski area was completed, while in the Chacon area crews continued installing and repairing fence lines. Road repairs are still being performed near Puertocito. In Pacheco village, the grading and repair work on County Road A005 was finished. Today, crews will continue working on suppression repair across the fire area until the work is complete.

Closures and Restrictions: Closures continue to be evaluated with public safety the primary concern. Monsoon weather patterns and completion of suppression repair activities play a part in the decision to lift closure orders. Stay informed to changing conditions by accessing https://nmfireinfo.com/fire-restrictions/ or the respective forests’ websites listed below.

Weather: After a cold frontpassed through New Mexico on Wednesday, residual moisture caused numerous thunderstorms yesterday in and around the fire area. Storms initiated along the spine of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains just after noon, remaining mostly stationary until pushing northeast into the burn scar. This resulted in an increased flash flood threat across the area, with over two inches of rain being reported with the strongest cell. High pressure aloft will migrate eastward today, and while storm coverage will trend down, the flash flood risk will persist through early next week.