Lincoln National Forest – FINAL UPDATE for the Russia Fire (located about 6 miles south of Cloudcroft)

FINAL FIRE UPDATE – 04/18/18  4:00 pm – Firefighters held the Russia Fire and declared it 100% contained at 1:00 pm today (4/18/18).  The final size of the fire was one-quarter of an acre. 

THIS WILL BE THE FINAL UPDATE FOR THE RUSSIA FIRE UNLESS THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE TO REPORT.

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

OLDER UPDATES:

FIRE UPDATE – 04/17/18  7:00 pm – Firefighters have successfully lined the fire and are working on securing the perimeter. 

INITIAL FIRE UPDATE: 04/17/18  6:15 pm

The Russia Fire (in Russia Canyon) south of Cloudcroft, was detected on 4/17/18 at 4:55 pm.  The aerial attack platform (airplane with pilot and wildland firefighter trained as an air attack resource) were flying over the area to recon another fire when it picked up a small column of smoke that was coming from a new fire, now named the Russia Fire.  The fire is not accessible by road, so firefighters are currently hiking into the fire.  They will provide a size-up once they have reached the fire.  In the meantime, air attack will continue to gather intel from a “birds-eye” view over the fire and that information is being relayed to the ground resources as they make their way to the fire.

New Fire Start – Russia Fire

INITIAL FIRE UPDATE: 04/17/18  6:15 pm

Jurisdiction: Lincoln National Forest, Sacramento Ranger District

Date/Time Detected: 04/17/18  4:55 pm

Location: Approximately 6 miles south of Cloudcroft

Lat/Long: 32 deg, 52 min, 55.06 sec X 105 deg, 41 min, 34.8 sec

Legal Description: T16S, R12E, SWSW Sec 26

Firefighting Resources:  The fire is in a remote location and firefighters are currently hiking to the incident.

Values at Risk:

Hazards: None

Fuels:  Mixed Conifer and timber

Size: One-tenth of an acre (as of 4/17/18  6:15 pm)  FINAL SIZE WAS ONE-QUARTER OF AN ACRE (4/18/18 – 1:00 pm)

Containment: 100% as of 4/18/18 at 1:00 pm

Cause:  Unknown at time of FINAL update