Rain, firefighting slows South Fork Fire to 'minimal' growth

Crews have fought the South Fork Fire largely to a standstill with the help of strong moisture inflows from the Gulf of Mexico, fire managers said at a briefing late Thursday.

The South Fork Fire, located north of Ruidoso, showed only “minimal” growth in the 24-hour period from Wednesday to Thursday, Incident Commander Dave Gesser said during the online briefing.

The Salt Fire, a smaller blaze south of Ruidoso that has received scant rainfall this week, grew by about 500 acres during the same period, said Gesser, who leads the Southwest Incident Management Team that took control of the fire on Wednesday.

As of Thursday, the South Fork Fire had blackened 16,335 acres and the Salt Fire 7,071 acres, according to the latest report on New Mexico Fire Information. Containment remained at 0%.

Gesser said firefighters are focusing on the edges of the fire, checking for snags and hotspots.

“What we’re really wanting to do is make sure that the perimeter is secure,” he said. “We don’t want anything to be able to cross that line and start moving again. That’s why you don’t see any containment yet. I would expect to start to see some containment in the next couple of days.”

The cause of the fires, which began at the southwest edges, remains undetermined, Gesser said.

Additional thunderstorms were expected Thursday night and Friday in the fire-stricken areas. Wet weather is largely working in favor of firefighting efforts but has caused damage from flash flooding, said Tom Bird, the incident team’s meteorologist.

“That’s good if it’s not in excess, and that’s what we’re watching for every day,” Bird said.

The weather changed rapidly this week from hot, dry and windy conditions when abundant moisture moved into the area, Bird said. Up to 2 inches of rain and golf ball-sized hail fell in some areas on Wednesday, he said.

Easterly winds “pumped in a lot of moisture,” he said. “So now we’ve got a lot of moisture in place.”

Many of the questions at a 5 p.m. briefing Thursday involved evacuation orders and property safety.

Evacuation orders are likely to remain in place “for a considerable amount of time,” Lincoln County Undersheriff Geraldine Martinez said at the briefing.

“I asked everybody to be patient with us,” Martinez said. “We’re doing our duty to protect Lincoln County, the people and the property of Lincoln County.”

Law enforcement has responded quickly to any reports of looting, she said.

“We are coming across some people that are out there that shouldn’t be out there,” she said. “But we are not finding mass looting or anything like that.”

Gesser said evacuation orders will likely be lifted piecemeal as areas are rendered safe.

“We’re trying to get folks back in as soon as we can,” Gesser said. “But we have to make sure the fire is secure within those areas.”

Local authorities also have to make sure roadways are safe before lifting closures on U.S. 70 and other roadways, he said.

The weather remains a wild card in firefighting efforts in and around Ruidoso. Strong winds, heavy rain, flash flooding and debris flows remain a potential risk. Rain and flash flooding interrupted firefighting efforts on Wednesday.

Thursday delivered some good weather for firefighting, bringing cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-60s in the afternoon, National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Guyer said.

But chances of thunderstorms were expected to increase to 70% Thursday night into Friday morning, Guyer said.

Friday will bring an 80% chance of thunderstorms, with the possibility of heavy rainfall, he said.

“It’s going to knock the fire down, but it’s going to produce flash flooding,” Guyer said of the expected thunderstorms on Friday.

Firefighters on Thursday planned to focus efforts on the northern and eastern edges of the South Fork Fire, the Complex Incident Management Team said.

That work included building fire lines along the North Fork and South Fork of Eagle Creek to prevent fire growth.

“Fire crews, heavy equipment and additional resources will continue building fire lines on both the South Fork and Salt fires while air resources will assist from the sky with ongoing water and retardant drops,” the update said. “Firefighters will be alert for spot fires and respond quickly to all fire threats.”

Drinking-water advisory issued

State officials issued a drinking water advisory for Lincoln County residents served by any of 10 public water systems.

The New Mexico Environment Department advises people using these systems to seek alternative drinking water sources.

The advisory applies to 19,000 users of the Ruidoso Water system, 3,400 users of Alto Lakes Water and Sanitation and a number of smaller systems.

Avoid bathing infants and young children with this water. People who are immunocompromised or have open cuts or wounds should not use the water to bathe until notified that the water is safe.

Burn scars may leave an area more vulnerable to flash flooding, which could impact drinking water sources.

Other water systems affected include Tall Pines Water Association, Cedar Creek, Alpine Village, Smokey Bear Ranger State, High Country Lodge, and the Gavilan Hills Water Association.

For more information about water advisories visit the agency’s website here.

The agency also recommends private well users inspect and repair wells, flush wells for about 30 minutes and test wells for Coliform bacteria and other contaminants.

For more information about private wells visit NMED’s website here.Wildfire DashboardGov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office announced the launch of a new Wildfire Dashboard to provide real-time updates and information about the South Fork and Salt fires.

The dashboard can be found here.(tncms-asset)0bde9ee2-2f38-11ef-aa2d-2358d83af268[0](/tncms-asset)(tncms-asset)e429423a-2f46-11ef-9a8c-c7e9b82bccdb[1](/tncms-asset)

Here are all of our photos of the South Fork Fire that's burned thousands of acres around Ruidoso