Encerrita Fire Update, June 18

Additional crews arrived on Monday and Tuesday morning to assist local firefighters working on the Encerrita Fire currently burning on El Malpais National Monument. The lightning-caused fire was discovered on June 15 and is estimated to be approximately 1300 acres as of Tuesday morning. The fire remains on NPS lands and does not pose an imminent threat to local communities.

On Monday, the fire was active on the north and northwest sides, fueled by high temperatures, low humidity, and steady winds. Ground crews began establishing an anchor point on the remote south side of the fire. Ground resources were assisted by aircraft on Monday, including 4 retardant drops along the north side of the fire.

On Tuesday, crews will complete the anchor point and begin constructing line along the west side of the fire to connect with the Continental Divide Trail. Firefighters will improve and secure retardant lines to reduce the likelihood of the fire moving onto neighboring jurisdictions. Weather is expected to remain hot and dry until a frontal passage late Wednesday, which will bring higher humidity, southeast winds, and a chance of precipitation later in the week.

Additional fire management staff arrived at the incident on Monday and Tuesday morning to support the growing number of firefighters committed to the fire. The incident will transition to a Type 3 organization on Thursday.

Closures remain in effect in the monument. The Continental Divide Trail and Zuni-Acoma Trail are closed in El Malpais National Monument from Porter Ranch Rd off Hwy 53 to Hwy 117; a CDT bypass is in place between CDT miles 502.5 to 512.5; more information is available on the CDT website. In addition to the western Zuni-Acoma Trail parking lot closure, the closure order was expanded on Tuesday to include the eastern Acoma-Zuni parking lot. Closures have been posted and the public is asked to avoid closed roads, trails, and parking lots. The El Calderon Trail remains open.

An Inciweb page has been established for the Encerrita Fire. Fire updates will continue to be posted to the El Malpais National Monument Facebook page (@ElMalpaisNPS) and to Inciweb.

Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmemp-encerrita-fire.

Park closures: https://www.nps.gov/elma/learn/management/superintendent-s-compendium.htm.

CDT Info: https://continentaldividetrail.org/closures-and-notices/.