Single Publication

Pass Fire Update for June 26, 2023

Acres: 55,683                                                                                                     

Start Date: May 18, 2023

Location: 40 miles west of Winston, NM                                                                                                  

Cause: Lightning

Containment: 13%                                                                                                   

Fuels: Timber, piñon/juniper and grass

Personnel: 112

The Pass Fire remained active yesterday afternoon in the southeastern side of the perimeter along Windfall Canyon and Burnt Corral Canyon, slowly burning to the south and to the northeast through an additional 1,226 acres of piñon/juniper type woodland and heavy overgrown vegetation. The fire is still exhibiting low to moderate fire behavior. A white plume of smoke from the Pass Fire developed during the afternoon hours, after west to southwest winds increased.

Smoke from the Pass Fire will settle in the lower valleys during evening and early morning hours and should lift by midmorning. Please visit https://fire.airnow.gov/# (Smoke and Air Map) for more information on air quality.

Today, additional firefighters are in the area east of the active fire working to improve FR704 to utilize the road as a confine and containment strategy, while being light on the land. The intent is to prevent the fire from crossing into private land to the east of the fire and from crossing the east fork of the Gila River. The Pass Fire has not crossed onto any private land and remains within the planned boundaries. The west and north sides of the Pass Fire are showing little to no smoke. Firefighters will continue to monitor the whole fire area from the air and ground.

The overall strategy on the Pass Fire is to allow the low to moderate intensity of the fire to play its natural role on the landscape as firefighters take appropriate actions to keep the fire within the designated planned boundaries while protecting private land, infrastructure, and natural resources. The Gila National Forest is a fire-adapted ecosystem. It is dependent on fire to play a natural role in restoring the landscape to more natural conditions while preventing the occurrence of extreme fires in the future.

Weather: Hot and dry, lighter winds with highs around 81-87 degrees. Elevated fire danger today through Tuesday. West-southwest winds 6-15 with gusts up to 25 mph.

Aviation Restrictions: A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is still in place over the Pass Fire. All non-fire aircraft are restricted. This includes civilian drones. Unauthorized aircraft in the area will ground firefighting aircraft, hindering firefighting efforts. If you fly, we can’t.

For More Information:

• Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmgnf-pass-fire Inciweb is the official site for fire information. This site is secure and updated daily.
• New Mexico Fire Information: https://nmfireinfo.com/
• Air Quality: https://www.airnow.gov