Wildfire spreads at Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Salt Flat, Texas – The Coyote Peak wildfire burning in Guadalupe Mountains National Park reported Sunday, May 8 has grown to over 4500 acres and has advanced into New Mexico and     is now on to State and private lands. No buildings, dwellings or structures have been affected by the fire. High winds continue to push fire north and east with active uphill runs through timber and brush.

Acres: Estimated at 4500 acres

Cause: Lightning

Location: Near Coyote Peak in the northwest corner of Guadalupe Mountains National Park at

Detected: Sunday, May 8 20161:30 p.m.

Personnel: 3 Type 1 Interagency Hotshot Crews, 2 more are en route, 7 Type 6 Engines, and 2 Fuels Tender, Miscellaneous Overhead from Tom Barta’s Pecos Zone 3 Incident Management Team. Total personnel: 172

High winds pushed the fire north and east across the park toward Texas and New Mexico state line. The forecast calls for continued high winds over the next 48 hours. Initial fire suppression attack on Saturday afternoon by heavy air tankers was effective until high winds forced them to land for the day. Those same winds prevented the air tankers and helicopter assigned to the fire from flying on Sunday, air resources are being utilized as weather permits.

The continued suppression strategy is focused on securing the northern perimeter. The incident command post is in Queen, New Mexico. Continued updates will be available on the Fire Incident Information System at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4719/.

Park closures due to fire include Dog Canyon, the Marcus Trail, Blue Ridge Trail, Bush Mountain and Tejas Trail, with additional park closures added overnight to include McKittrick Ridge Trail. Closures will be in place until further notice. Park areas remaining open are the Bowl Trail loop, Guadalupe Peak Trail, Juniper Trail, Bear Canyon, Mckittrick Canyon up to Pratt Cabin, and the segment of the of Tejas Trail beginning at the Pine Springs Trailhead. Fire updates and trail status are posted on the park’s website at www.nps.gov/gumo/planyourvisit/conditions and on the park’s Facebook and Twitter pages: www.facebook.com/guadalupe.mountains and twitter.com/GuadalupeMtnsNP .

Media are encouraged to contact Guadalupe Mountains National Park PIO, Elizabeth Jackson at (432) 940-2440 for further information.