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Bear Trap Fire

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Unit Information

2113 Osuna Rd. NE 
Albuquerque, 
87113 
2113 Osuna Rd. NE 
Albuquerque, 
87113 

Incident Contacts

  • Pat Johnson
    Email:
    patricia.e.johnson@usda.gov
    Phone:
    505-850-2657
  • Bear Trap Fire Information
    Email:
    2022.beartrap@firenet.gov
    Phone:
    928-362-2906
    Hours:
    8 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Bear Trap Fire update, Wednesday, May 25

Bear Trap Fire
Publication Type: News 05/25/2022

Acres: 28,988 acres              

Containment: 28%

Cause: Undetermined

Total Personnel: 515           

 

Start Date:  May 1, 2022

Location: San Mateo Mountains, Magdalena Ranger District, Socorro County, NM

Fuels: Pine, Pinyon-Juniper and Grass


 

Highlights:  Under Red Flag conditions yesterday, air support was limited due to high wind speeds. With these challenging conditions fire crossed containment line at the southwest corner of the fire. This area was mainly grass, hand crews with the assistance of dozers worked the area last night and were able to reestablish containment line. The increased acreage in this area was 250 acres. The additional increase in acreage yesterday was within the fire perimeter. A daily operational briefing video explaining details of the Bear Trap Fire operations can be viewed on the Cibola National Forest Facebook page

 

Operations:  In the northern area of the fire today crews will continue to patrol, mop up, and be prepared to assist in suppression repair. In the southwest section firefighters will continue holding operations on the 219 road south toward the 72 and 73 road system and mop up were safe. Firefighters will be in place in the southeast area of the fire to ensure control lines are not compromised.

 

Weather: Today will be trending warmer and remaining very dry. A dry and warmer northwest flow will reside across the area today. After modest overnight humidity recovery, values will fall back below 30% by late morning across the fire, and into the single digits across lower and mid slopes by mid-afternoon. Early morning winds will remain light and generally driven by terrain flows until northwest winds mix by midday. Although not as strong as Tuesday, these winds combined with warmer temperatures and very low humidity will locally elevate fire weather conditions.      

 

Closures and Restrictions: The Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands (NF & NGs) have now issued an updated fire area, road and trail closure (No. 03-0728) to protect public health and safety during fire operations on the Bear Trap Fire. This closure order expands the previous closure area to provide for continued firefighter safety during wildland fire suppression and emergency operations. This order supersedes the previous order No. 03-0726. Based on high fire danger and severe fire weather conditions, the Cibola NF & NGs have also implemented Stage 2 Fire Restrictions on the Magdalena Ranger District (No. 03-0724). Both closure orders and maps are available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/cibola/alerts-notices.

 

Safety: The health and safety of firefighters and the public are always the first priority. Members of the public should stay away from Bear Trap Fire operations. A temporary flight restriction (TFR) is in place over the area, which includes unmanned aircraft, or drones. More information on the dangers drones pose to wildland firefighting aircraft and personnel on the ground can be found at https://www.nifc.gov/drones/.

  Smoke: Smoke from the Bear Trap Fire and other nearby fires may be visible in the areas of Alamo, Datil, Magdalena, Socorro, Winston, and San Antonio, NM. 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 at the New Mexico Department of Health Environmental Public Health Tracking website: nmtracking.org. An interactive smoke map at https://fire.airnow.gov/ allows you to zoom into your area to see the latest smoke conditions.

 

Fire updates are posted on InciWeb, Cibola NF & NGs website, Facebook and Twitter pages, the NM Fire Information website.

Email: 2022.beartrap@firenet.gov  Phone: (928) 362-2906 Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM
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