July 8, 2019 
SOUTHWEST AREA
INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM
TEAM 4 – CARL SCHWOPE – INCIDENT COMMANDER
Acres: 5,772
Start Date: June 29, 2019
Cause: Lightning
Total personnel: 322
Location: Peloncillo Mtns N.M.
Fuels: Timber, brush, and grass
Miller Fire Update July 8, 2019
Fire Activity: Fire activity has lessened significantly over the fire due to recent rains. Today, the fire activity in finer, grassy fuels is expected to increase as they dry out due to hotter and drier weather moving into the area. This weather pattern will continue for the next two days.
Objectives: Objectives for this lightning-caused fire include firefighter and public safety, point protection for structures in the area, and managing the fire to perform its natural role on the landscape of clearing excess vegetation, which will improve range, wildlife habitat, and watershed conditions. Our operational strategies are supporting these objectives with the actions taken on the fire ground.
Operations: Yesterday, Miller Fire personnel assisted New Mexico State Forestry with initial attack on a lightning-caused fire in the Animas River Valley.
Today, an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) will be used to map the fire’s perimeter, look for hot spots, and patrol for additional new starts from recent lightning.
Fire crews will continue to monitor the fire and are prepared for burnout operations on the upper side of the fire if indicated by today’s fuel and weather conditions. The low-intensity fire will create a buffer zone between the main fire and control lines, and achieve desired resource benefits. Smoke production can be heavy from burnout operations. Smoke will generally move in a north or northeast direction with predicted winds. Smoke and air quality information can be found at https://tinyurl.com/MillerFireAirQuaility.
Weather: Today will be sunny, warm and dry with a southwest to west 12-16 mph wind in the afternoon. Gusts up to 30 mph are expected with temperatures peaking around 90 degrees. The much drier air will result in afternoon minimum humidity levels approaching 10 percent followed by somewhat poor overnight recoveries.
Closures: There is a temporary flight restriction closure over the fire area. Citizens are encouraged to stay safely clear of fire area. The Geronimo Trail Road will close without notice due to fire activity and firefighters performing burnout operations. Check the links below for the most current conditions.
Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6417/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoronadoNF/
NM Fire Info 
Comments are closed.