Buzzard Fire Update for June 20, 2018

Release Date: Jun 20, 2018

Acres: 47,370                                                                               Start Date: May 22, 2018

Cause: Human-caused                                                                Location: 10 miles NE of Reserve, NM (Gila NF)

Containment: 82%                                                                      Fuels: Timber (litter, grass and understory)      

Total Personnel: 120 

General Information: On Wednesday, June 19 a transfer of command to the Type 3 team occurred. The Type 3 Incident Commander is Scott Jones, with Marcus Cornwell as trainee. Firefighters continue to monitor the fire and are assessing the need for suppression actions in the southwest corner of the fire’s perimeter. The Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team began emergency treatments to protect life, property, natural and cultural resources. 

Fire Operations: The BAER team is working on projects such as removing debris (logs, brush, and excess soil) from roadside ditches, culverts and water diversion ditches on roads within and surrounding the fire.  Additionally, stream channels will be cleared of woody debris.  These treatments will allow for the free flow of water runoff after heavy rain storms and reduce the chances of erosion and downstream flooding.   The fire suppression repair and rehabilitation crews will continue to work with two rubber-tired skidders, an excavator, and a dozer to construct water bars and pull material over control lines to aid in revegetation on the southeast side.  On the southwest portion of the fire, crews will look for opportunities to use direct and indirect suppression methods to limit fire spread.  

Fire Safety/Closures:  The Gila National Forest is in Stage 1 Fire Restrictions. Fire Danger is still rated as VERY HIGH. The area around the fire remains closed for public safety until lifted by the Gila National Forest. Roadblocks have been set up by local law enforcement. In support of this closure, the Continental Divide Trail has been rerouted around the fire closures. The trail reroute map is available at https://bit.ly/2GRESFw. More closure information is available at https://bit.ly/2LvwKhN.

Fire Information: Fire information can be found at https://nmfireinfo.com/ and http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5814/.  For information on the Gila National Forest, please visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/gila or join the conversation on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GilaNForest/ or follow us on Twitter @GilaNForest.