Single Publication

Video Update

Acres: 11,500

Start Date: May 19, 2024 

Location: 7 miles north of the village of Coyote, NM 

Personnel: 186 

Fuels: Timber 

Completion: 86% 

Highlights: The Northern New Mexico Type 3 Incident Management team, led by Incident Commander Luke McLarty, took command of the Indios Fire on Monday, June 10, from the Southwest Area Incident Management Team 4. The Northern New Mexico team is comprised of members from the Santa Fe National Forest and surrounding areas. They had command of the fire for the first several days of the incident before transitioning to the SWIMT 4. The type 3 team will now finish suppression repair work, mop up and cool interior hot spots, and assess the Continental Divide Trail to determine the next steps in getting it opened back up.  

Due to successful firefighting efforts, 86% of objectives are complete, and many resources are either demobilizing to return to their home units or reassigning to assist other wildfires across the country. As a result of decreased fire activity, written updates will now be provided every other day moving forward. 

Operations: Today, Forest personnel will conduct a reconnaissance of the Continental Divide Trail from top to bottom of the closed portion to determine what is needed to make it safe to open it back up to hikers. Hydrologists will assess the burn area to decide what repairs and rehabilitation work may be needed to protect the watershed. 

The percentage of completion (objectives for confinement, point protection, and monitoring) and containment (where the fire can be reasonably expected to stop spreading) remains at 86%, and no further fire growth is expected. The remaining 14% is not officially reported as contained because no control measures are in place on the northern end of the fire due to steep, inaccessible terrain in the Chama River Canyon Wilderness. Fire managers expect little to no fire spread in this area due to the limited vegetation and rocky terrain. Large logs and stumps continue to smolder in some areas, but most lighter fuels have been consumed in the interior. 

Fire personnel, including firefighters, heavy equipment operators and Forest personnel continue with suppression repair work. This includes repairing roads and firelines, installing water bars, seeding disturbed areas, chipping, and cutting down trees that pose a hazard (snags) along roads and trails. 

Weather: Today, the skies will clear, and temperatures will rise. A spot shower or thunderstorm moving southeast from the Tusas Mountains north of the burn location is unlikely to hit the burn area directly, but gusty outflow winds could impact the area in the afternoon and early evening.

Smoke: Minimal smoke impacts are expected for the foreseeable future. Light dispersed visible smoke will diminish over time. Smoke sensors have been installed and will remain in the communities of Coyote, Gallina, Cañones, and at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert. View an interactive smoke map at https://fire.airnow.gov/. Learn more about smoke impacts at https://www.env.nm.gov/air-quality/fire-smoke-links/.

Closures: A Santa Fe National Forest emergency area closure is in place for the Indios Fire. The full closure order (No. 03-10-01-24-04) and map are available on Inciweb. Perimeter modifications to the closure order were made on Monday, June 10. Camping and water are available at the Coyote Ranger Station for Continental Divide Trail hikers impacted by this closure.

Fire Information:

2024.indios@firenet.gov

575-323-2290