Laguna Wildfire Daily Update July 8, 2025
Forest Service News Release
Laguna Wildfire Daily Update
Brandon Hess – Incident Commander
July 8, 2025
Acres: 7,284
Start Date: 6/25/2025
Completion: 56 %
Location: Located in the Coyote Ranger District, 8 miles north of New Mexico State Road 96 and west of the Chama River Canyon Wilderness.
Personnel: 135
Fuels: Oak brush, ponderosa pine, pinyon-juniper
Resources: 3 hotshot crews, 1 Type 2 Initial Attack crew, 2 suppression modules, 6 engines, 2 support water tenders.
Highlights: Fire crews continued strategic firing operations to create buffer zones along the northern and southern boundary of the wildfire and west to Forest Road 8. To conduct a firing operation, firefighters cut away vegetation to make a line of bare soil ahead of a fire and then using aerial and hand ignitions burn the vegetation between that line and the actively burning fire front.
Weather: Light winds will continue to through tomorrow night. There is a lower chance of rain tomorrow given that drier air is intruding from the northwest, but a gusty high-based shower cannot be ruled out in the afternoon near the wildfire. Both afternoon and overnight humidity recoveries will trend drier the next couple of days.
Smoke: Rain helped clear smoke from the area resulting in GOOD conditions. Chances for storms are decreasing over the next few days with more smoke and hazy skies expected, though there is still a chance for an occasional storm which will help to clear smoke. Smoke may be visible from communities near the fire as well as from Los Alamos, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque. Hazy skies are expected with overnight smoke settling in low lying areas below the fire, including the Rio Chama River valley and in those communities along NM State Road 96, where smoke will be slow to lift in the morning. A similar pattern is expected the next few days with less storms, higher temperatures and light surface winds, which could lead to smokier and hazier conditions where smoke is slow to clear.
Safety: The health and safety of firefighters and the public are always the highest priority. Please avoid the area while crews manage the Laguna Wildfire. Drones and firefighting aircraft are dangerous and could lead to accidents or slow down wildfire operations. If you fly, we can't.
Closures: : Closure Order 03-10-01-25-08 is in place and includes all National Forest System lands, roads, and trails within Township 24N Range 1E Sections 1,2,11,12,13,14,23,24,25,26 and Township 24N Range 2E Sections 4-9 and Sections14-32 and Township 25N Range 1E Sections 25,35,36 and Township 25N Range 2E Sections 30-32 of the New Mexico Principal Meridian within the Coyote Ranger District. The purpose of this Order is to protect the public’s health and safety during firefighting operations for the Laguna Wildfire. See attached map for the closure area.
More Information: 505-607-0879 | claudia.brookshire@usda.gov| x.com/SantafeNF | facebook.com/santafeNF | Inciweb-Laguna Wildfire | NM Fire Info
About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.
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