Indian fire burns at 11,500 acres near Coyote

News from the Forestry Office:

Firefighters have extinguished the Indian wildfire in the Coyote Ranger District to 86%. To date, June 9, 2024, 11,500 acres have burned. This wildfire was first reported on May 19, 2024. It is located 7 miles north of the village of Coyote and is burning in the Rio Chama Canyon Wilderness. The cause of the wildfire is a lightning strike.

At 7 a.m. on Monday, June 10, Southwest Area Incident Management Team 4 will transfer command of the Indios Fire to the Northern New Mexico Incident Management Team, led by Incident Commander Luke McLarty. Team 4 would like to extend a sincere thank you to the local communities for their support, gratitude and hospitality throughout the incident. With successful firefighting efforts, 86% of objectives have now been met and responders will either be withdrawn to return to their home units or reassigned to assist with other wildfires across the country. Due to reduced fire activity, written updates will now be provided every two days.

Prior to its departure, Team 4 will host a public open house today, June 9, from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Coronado High School auditorium, 1903 NM-9 in Gallina.

Details:

• Area: 11,500
• Start date: May 19, 2024,
• Location: 7 miles north of the village of Coyote
• Number of employees: 321
• Completion: 86%
• Fuels: Wood

Operations:

The Indios Fire has now reached the point where the percent of completion (containment, point protection, and monitoring goals) and containment level (where the fire can reasonably be expected to stop spreading) are in agreement and no further fire growth is expected. Although these percentages now agree at 86%, progress will continue to be reported in terms of percent of completion throughout the incident. The remaining 14% will not be officially reported as contained because no control measures have been implemented on the north end of the fire due to the steep, inaccessible terrain in the Chama River Canyon Wilderness.

Due to the sparse vegetation and rocky terrain, firefighters expect little to no fire spread in this area. Large logs and stumps are still smoldering in some areas, but inland most of the lighter fuels have been consumed. Firefighters have completed repair and demolition work on Forest Roads 64 and 169. On the west side, crews continued road repairs with bulldozers and dozers and installed water barriers to minimize erosion.

The south and east sides of the fire remained quiet as crews conducted their daily patrols. Air operations conducted a reconnaissance flight early yesterday morning to familiarize the incoming response team with the areas of interest on the other side of the fire.

Weather:

Today, a high pressure system to the east will drive thunderstorms toward the fire area. With the increased chance of thunderstorms, temperatures should be lower and humidity higher than the previous day. Lower temperatures and a higher chance of thunderstorms are expected for Monday. Warm and dry conditions are forecast for the rest of the week.

Smoke:

Minimal impacts from smoke are expected in the foreseeable future. Lightly dispersed visible smoke will decrease over time. Smoke sensors have been installed and remain in place in the communities of Coyote, Gallina, Cañones and the Convent of Christ in the Desert. An interactive smoke map can be found at https://fire.airnow.gov/Learn more about the effects of smoke on https://www.env.nm.gov/air-quality/fire-smoke-links/.

Closures:

The Santa Fe National Forest has issued an emergency closure of the area due to the Indios Fire. The full closure order (#03-12-05-23-22) and a map are available on Inciweb. Camping and water are available at the Coyote Ranger Station for Continental Divide Trail hikers affected by this closure.

Security:

A temporary no-fly zone (TFR), which includes unmanned aerial systems or drones, is in effect over the area. For more information on the dangers drones pose to aircraft and wildland firefighting ground personnel, visit: https://uas.nifc.gov/. Due to the reduced use of aircraft, the TFR will be lifted today, June 9, at 9 p.m.

Visit inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmsnf-indios-wildfire / nmfireinfo.com 575.323.2290 / x.com/SantafeNF / facebook.com/santafeNF / [email protected].