Single Publication

 May 26, 2022

Acres: 33,196 acres              

Containment: 28%

Cause: Undetermined

Total Personnel: 558           

Start Date:  May 1, 2022

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

Fuels: Pine, Pinyon-Juniper and Grass

Highlights:  Continued windy conditions Wednesday allowed for a good test of the fire perimeter. All containment lines held, including the area that was reestablished Tuesday evening after fire crossed containment lines. Where safe, crews were able to strategically reinforce hand and dozer lines using proactive, low-intensity firing and air operations. Aerial and ground patrols continued. Most resources were focused on the southwest and south areas where fire is actively burning in the interior. A daily operational briefing video explaining details of the Bear Trap Fire operations can be viewed on the Cibola National Forest Facebook page. 

Operations:  The north and eastern areas of the fire continue to show little concerning fire activity and crews will begin working with resource specialists on suppression repair. After successful burning operations overnight, firefighters will continue mop up operations on the southwest and south portion of the fire along the 219 road, 72A road, Hudson Canyon and West Red Canyon roads. Weather today continues to support the removal of fuel inside the containment lines using low-intensity fire where safe and appropriate. Pockets of unburned fuel inside of fire will continue to burn throughout the day. Firefighters will keep a careful eye on these areas.

Weather: A high pressure system will sit over the fire area today increasing temperatures, keeping the humidity low and producing only light terrain driven winds. This system will begin to move to the east and winds might increase in the evening as the weather pattern returns to more typical southwesterly flow. Forecasters and fire officials will be watching the weather over the holiday weekend as temperatures and winds increase and humidity remains low.

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/.