New Fire Start – DARK Fire – Located 6 miles south of Cloudcroft, NM

New Fire Start – DARK Fire

INITIAL FIRE UPDATE: 01/19/18/17  4:00 pm

Jurisdiction: New Mexico State Forestry and/or Private AND Lincoln National Forest, Sacramento Ranger District

Incident Commander:  USFS

Date/Time Detected: 01/19/18  11:28 am

Location: Approximately 6 miles south of Cloudcroft, NM.  Fire started near Dark Canyon and Highway 130

Lat/Long: 32 deg, 54 min, 4.04 sec X 105 deg, 36 min, 56.16 sec

Legal Description: T16S, R13E, SESE Sec 33

Firefighting Resources: Multiple interagency resources responding or already on scene, including local Volunteer Fire Departments, BIA, BLM and USFS, Otero County EMS and Law Enforcement resources.

Values at Risk:  (none identified at time of this update)

Hazards:  (none identified at time of this update)

Fuels:  Grass and timber

Size:  8 acres

Containment:  None at time of update

Cause:  Unknown

Status: Firefighters began mobilizing to the Dark Fire shortly after it was reported.  They are currently working on containing the fire.  Firefighters have been successful in stopping the fire spread.  This post will be updated as additional information is provided from the field resources.

Regarding smoke, in the event of a prescribed fire or wildfire: If visibility becomes lower because of smoke, please visit the NM Department of Health’s smoke page:  https://nmtracking.org/fire

PIO: Loretta Benavidez, llbenavidez@fs.fed.us  575-430-5546