THOMPSON RIDGE FIRE New Update 6/9 Am Incident: Thompson Ridge Wildfire Acres: 20,687 Start date: May 31, 2013 Cause: Downed powerline Location: Valles Caldera National Preserve, NM Containment: 40 percent Fuels: Mixed conifer and Ponderosa pine Terrain: Steep, rugged Resources: 21 crews, 52 engines, 35 water tenders, 2 dozers Total personnel: 1,023 Available air support: 3 air tankers, 6 helicopters Fire intensity increased significantly along the slopes just west of the Valles Caldera headquarters historic district yesterday afternoon. To slow its progress, aerial burnout operations began just before sunset along a ridge southwest of the established fire. A spot fire from the interior became established on the North side of South Mountain outside of the containment line. Fire personnel will now prepare Highway 4 from approximately 1.5 miles east of Forest Road 10 to the Valles Caldera main gate and along Valles Caldera Road 01 for burnout operations. Effective 6 a.m. today, June 9, 2013, New Mexico Highway 4 will be closed at the junction of State Route 126 to the junction of State Route 501. Residents in and around Sierra los Pinos are permitted entrance and exit along Highway 4 south to Jemez Springs. No traffic will be allowed to travel along Highway 4 east of Forest Road 10. Residents must show their identification to gain re-entry. There are no additional evacuations at this time. Evacuations remain in effect for Thompson Ridge, Rancho de la Cueva, and Elk Valley. As the weather warms today, expect to see active fire behavior and a column of smoke. All points of entry to the Valles Caldera National Preserve are closed to public access due to fire activity. The Fenton Lake State Park is also closed to the public. For more information regarding the fire, please visit inciweb.org or follow on Twitter at twitter/ThompsonRdgFire . Additional photos and information are available at facebook/ThompsonRdgFire and flickr/ThompsonRdgFire. For more smoke information and air quality forecasts, please visit the New Mexico Environment Departments website at nmenv.state.nm.us/aqb and https://nmtracking.org/fire.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Jun 2013 15:48:22 +0000