Single Publication

Southwest Area

Incident Management Team

TEAM 5 – Dave Gesser– INCIDENT COMMANDER

Containment increases on the South Fork and Salt fires 

Daily Update, Tuesday, June 25, 2024

Mescalero Apache Tribe Emergency Operations Center: 575-464-9214

Village of Ruidoso Emergency Operations Center: 575-258-6900

Fire Information Phone: 575-323-8378 or 575-323-8258 

Media Information Phone: 575-323-8053

Phone Line Hours: 8 am – 8 pm

Email: 2024.southfork@firenet.gov

Acres:  South Fork – 17,556; Salt – 7,947

Start Date: June 17, 2024

Location: South Fork – Ruidoso Area; Salt – 7 mile west of Mescalero, NM

Personnel: 1,006

Containment: South Fork – 54%; Salt – 38%

Fuels: mixed conifer, grass, pine/juniper                                    

Resources: The South Fork and Salt fires are currently staffed with 12 crews, 8 helicopters, 61 engines, 9 bulldozers, and 18 water tenders.

Highlights: Containment on the South Fork and Salt fires increased as crews continue working hard to seek out and address residual heat sources across the fire area. 

Fire Activity: Fire activity has reduced significantly across the South Fork and Salt fires thanks to persistent scattered storms. While pockets of large, heavy, dead/downed fuels, snags, and stumps continue to smolder, growth potential along the perimeter will be very minimal. 

On Monday, scattered thunderstorms caused localized flooding again, but crews were still able to access many areas of the South Fork and Salt fires and made good progress on structural assessments and containment operations. 

Today, crews will focus on constructing direct control lines and mopping up hot spots where needed. Mop up will continue until full containment is reached, including removal of hazard trees and securing the fire perimeter. Additionally, crews will assist utility cooperators in gaining access to damaged areas to conduct assessments.

Weather: The fire area experienced noticeably warmer conditions on Monday. Today, temperatures will remain in the high 80s with lower chances of isolated showers. Wednesday will bring more moisture and higher potential for scattered rains.

Smoke: Smoke production will remain light to moderate on Monday. Additional details are available at https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/430b2c05.

Evacuations: No evacuations are in place. However, designated "NO ENTRY/EXCLUSION ZONES" remain in place in some areas of the village. Use www.lincolncountynm.gov and www.ruidoso-nm.gov/south-fork-fire or contact the Emergency Operations Centers for more information. 

Tribal members who have been displaced outside of the Mescalero Apache Reservation due to the fires are strongly encouraged to contact the Tribe's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to help you and your families get back to the reservation. If you're stranded out of town at other evacuation sites, please call the EOC at 575-464-9214 for more details.

Closures: A South Fork Fire Emergency Closure Order was issued on June 20, 2024, for national forest lands within the Smokey Bear Ranger District. The identified areas, and roads and trails therein, are closed to public access to allow firefighting personnel to work and through the fire area safely. More information is available at www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/lincoln/alerts-notices/?aid=88199. 

A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the fire area. Public/commercial drone flights are also prohibited within this area. If you fly, we may have to ground our air resources. Visit https://www.tfr.faa.gov for more information.

More information:

Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmmea-south-fork-and-salt

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SWIMT5 

Smoke Outlook: https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/430b2c05

Lincoln County Government: www.lincolncountynm.gov

Mescalero Apache Tribe: https://mescaleroapachetribe.com 

Village of Ruidoso: www.ruidoso-nm.gov/south-fork-fire