Pursuant to Title 36 CFR 261.50(a) and/or (b), the Special Order listed below, applicable to the San Juan National Forest, is hereby terminated effective July 13, 2023, at 12:01 AM.
Please post a copy of this Termination Letter in your Forest Orders notebooks and post on your public bulletin board.

Chris Mountain Fire Area, June 29, 2023 David Neely, Forest Supervisor
Road, and Trail Closure –
Pagosa Ranger District –
Order Number 02-13-06-23-04

If you have any questions regarding this order, please contact Joshua Peck, Pagosa District Ranger at 970-264-1520 or joshua.p.peck@usda.gov. For questions regarding the posting of this order and the public notice, please contact Executive Assistant, Beth Fox at 970-385-1290 or elizabeth.fox@usda.gov.

Termination of Special Orders - Chris Mountain Fire Area, Road, and Trail Closure - Pagosa Ranger District - Order Number 02-13-06-23-04

Pursuant to Title 36 CFR 261.50(a) and/or (b), the Special Order listed below, applicable to the San Juan National Forest, is hereby terminated effective July 13, 2023, at 12:01 AM.
Please post a copy of this Termination Letter in your Forest Orders notebooks and post on your public bulletin board.

Chris Mountain Fire Area, June 29, 2023 David Neely, Forest Supervisor
Road, and Trail Closure –
Pagosa Ranger District –
Order Number 02-13-06-23-04

If you have any questions regarding this order, please contact Joshua Peck, Pagosa District Ranger at 970-264-1520 or joshua.p.peck@usda.gov. For questions regarding the posting of this order and the public notice, please contact Executive Assistant, Beth Fox at 970-385-1290 or elizabeth.fox@usda.gov.

The Willamette National Forest has announced a closure order for a portion of the Forest around the Bedrock Fire as of July 26, 2023. Please see the attached closure order and map for further details.

Hutchinson Fire – July 26 Update
Magdalena Ranger District

Reported fire start date / time: July 23, 2023 / 1300.    Cause: Lightning Strike            Size: 150 acres.

Location: Remote mountainous terrain of central west San Mateo Mts. on the Magdalena Ranger District – New Mexico on the Cibola National Forest & National Grasslands. See map attached.

Strategy: Fire managers are managing the Hutchinson Fire using a confine and contain strategy within a pre-determined perimeter as long as conditions allow crews to safely do so. We use predictive services tools and fire behavior models to guide our fire management decisions. The benefit of this strategy will be to reduce hazardous fuels, encourage the growth of native plants, increase species diversity in the understory, restore ecological balance and reduce the potential for future high-severity wildfires.

Crews will continue preparations along Forest Roads 94, 96 and 478 to be utilized as part of the containment line, keeping the fire within the identified planning area. Additional use of hand ignition operations may occur to reduce the potential for rapid fire spread toward containment features.

Wildlife biologists, range specialist and archaeologists are helping to ensure that natural and cultural resources are protected.

On Scene: Type 3 Incident Commander, Magdalena RD Crew 3 & Engine 631, Wallowa-Whitman NF Engine 653, Lewis & Clark NF Engine 661, Firestorm 5 Type 2IA Crew, NMFD Type 2IA Crew and air resources.

Fuels: Grass, timber and brush.

Containment: 0%.

Values at risk: The Hutchinson Fire is not a threat to any values at risk or communities, and there are no evacuations in effect.

Safety: The health and safety of firefighters and the public are always the first priority. There are no road closures at this time related to the Hutchinson Fire, but members of the public should avoid the area to allow for fire operations.

Drones pose a serious risk to firefighting and can cause air operations to cease. The public is reminded that “If you fly, we can’t!”

Smoke may be visible from NM 107 south of Magdalena, NM 52 south, Community of Dusty and within a 50-mile radius of the Hutchinson Fire. Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures. Information on air quality and protecting your health can be found online at the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) website  nmtracking.org. An interactive smoke map is available at https://fire.airnow.gov/, which allows you to zoom into areas to see the latest smoke conditions.

Weather for Magdalena NM: Today: Isolated showers and thunderstorms after 4pm. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 100. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Tonight: Isolated showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph becoming east after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 20%. https://www.weather.gov/

Hutchinson Fire updates will be posted on the  Cibola NF & NGs website, New Mexico Fire Information website, and the Cibola NF & NGs Facebook  & Twitter pages.

Hutchinson Wildfire – July 24 Update
Magdalena Ranger District

Reported date / time: July 23, 2023 / 1300.

Cause: Lightning Strike

Size: 25 acres.

Location: Remote mountainous terrain of central west San Mateo Mts. on the Magdalena Ranger District – New Mexico on the Cibola National Forest & National Grasslands.

On Scene: Magdalena RD Crew 3 & Engine 631, Wallowa-Whitman NF Engine 653, Lewis & Clark NF Engine 661, Firestorm 5 Type 2IA Crew, NMFD Type 2IA Crew and air resources.

Fire behavior: The Hutchinson Fire is exhibiting moderate fire behavior.

Strategy: Confine and contain.

Fuels: Grass, timber and brush.

Containment: 0%.

Values at risk: The Hutchinson Fire is not a threat to any values at risk or communities, and there are no evacuations in effect.

Safety: The health and safety of firefighters and the public are always the first priority. Members of the public should avoid the Hutchinson Fire area of the Magdalena Ranger District.

Drones pose a serious risk to firefighting and can cause air operations to cease. The public is reminded that “If you fly, we can’t!”

Smoke may be visible from NM 107 south of Magdalena, NM 52 south, Community of Dusty and within a 50-mile radius of the Hutchinson Fire. Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures. Information on air quality and protecting your health can be found online at the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) website  nmtracking.org

Weather for Magdalena NM: This Afternoon: Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. South wind 5 to 15 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 66. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph. https://www.weather.gov/

Hutchinson Fire updates will be posted on the  Cibola NF & NGs website, New Mexico Fire Information website, and the Cibola NF & NGs Facebook  & Twitter pages.

New Wildfire Start – Hutchinson Fire
Magdalena Ranger District – July 23

Reported date / time: July 23, 2023 / 1300.

Cause: Lightning Strike

Size: 5 acres.

Location: Remote mountainous terrain of central west San Mateo Mts. on the Magdalena Ranger District – New Mexico on the Cibola National Forest & National Grasslands.

On Scene: Wallowa-Whitman NF Engine 653 and Magdalena RD Crew 3.

Fuels: Grass, timber and brush.

Fire behavior: The Hutchinson Fire is exhibiting moderate fire behavior.

Containment: 0%.

Values at risk: The Hutchinson Fire is not a threat to any values at risk or communities, and there are no evacuations in effect.

Safety: The health and safety of firefighters and the public are always the first priority. Members of the public should avoid the Hutchinson Fire area of the Magdalena Ranger District.

Drones pose a serious risk to firefighting and can cause air operations to cease.
The public is reminded that “If you fly, we can’t!”

Smoke may be visible from NM 107 south of Magdalena and NM 52 south and within a 50 mile radius of the Hutchinson Fire. Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures. Information on air quality and protecting your health can be found online at the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) website
nmtracking.org

Weather for Magdalena NM: Today: Scattered showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 62. Southeast wind 5 to 15 mph becoming southwest after midnight. https://www.weather.gov/

Hutchinson Fire updates will be posted on the  Cibola NF & NGs website, New Mexico Fire Information website, and the Cibola NF & NGs Facebook  & Twitter pages.

Pipeline Fire Daily Update July 26, 2023

July 26, 2023

11:30 am

Size: 355 acres

Containment: 50%

Date Started: July 25, 2023

Cause: Unknown 

Resources from the counties of Parker, Erath, Hood, Palo Pinto, and Wise along with state resources from Texas A&M Forest (TAMFS), Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) have returned to the Pipeline Fire this morning to continue to improve constructed control line, patrol, and mop-up. Mop up is a process of extinguishing all burning material near containment lines. 

Ground and aviation resources were able to construct fire line around the entire perimeter of the fire. Continuing drought conditions, including low relative humidity, and gusty winds will combine to keep potential fire growth high. There is a group of resources available to respond to new starts in North Texas.

There are no evacuation orders for the Pipeline fire and there has been no damage to structures at this time. Additionally, no injuries have been reported.