Gila National Forest -Update on Tadpole Fire for June 13, 2020 – Silver City Ranger District

Saturday, June 13, 2020, 11:00 A.M. MT

Fire Information Line: (575) 654-4181 (575) 313-4678

Visit the New Mexico Fire Information website at www.nmfireinfo.com

Additional Fire Information available: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6737/

Office hours: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

TADPOLE FIRE

Location:  12 miles north of Silver City               Start Date: June 6, 2020                         Cause:  Lightning

Total Personnel: 169                                        Vegetation:  Timber with grass understory, brush, and Chaparral

Resources:  Five 20-person initial attack handcrews, one 8-person handcrew, 1 Type 3 heavy fire engine, 4 Type 6 light fire engines, 1 Type 3 medium helicopter, and 1 Type 1 heavy helicopter.  Air tankers are available at the Gila Aerial Fire Base.

Acres: 6,389                             Containment:  15%

SUMMARY:  The Tadpole Fire, now at 6,389 acres, was ignited by lightning and reported on June 6. The Tadpole Fire is located on the SW portion of Tadpole Ridge, on National Forest System lands, Gila National Forest.  The fire is burning in timber with grass understory, brush and chaparral.

WEATHER: The general pattern across the Southwest region will remain mostly unchanged through the weekend with a plume of moisture centered directly over the Gila region.  Continued low-level southeast flow will keep dewpoints up, meaning good overnight relative humidity recovery, and minimum humidity’s staying in the 20% range.  Temperatures will stay consistent, with mild overnight lows and highs near seasonal averages.  Wilds will favor a southeast direction, more east at night, and more south during the day.  Afternoon will be breezy.  Daytime heating and upslope air flow will work with the moisture in place to generate midday buildups and isolating to scattered afternoon to evening showers and thunderstorms. Expect gusty and erratic outflow winds and dangerous lightning, along with hit-and-miss rain.

FIRE BEHAVIOR: Crews are expecting low fire behavior potential this morning, peaking with low to moderate fire behavior potential during the early afternoon hours.  In the late afternoon, expect fire potential to diminish slightly as a result of the increasing relatively humidity and cloud cover in association with the afternoon thunderstorm activity.  Gusty outflow winds likely in the afternoon.

Six portable air quality monitoring stations are being placed and will be providing smoke data and an air quality summary within the next 24 hours.  Please visit https://fires.airfire.org/outlooks/SWNewMexico and https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/smoke-faq.html  for real time smoke monitoring data and a daily smoke summary.

Please see the New Mexico Department of Health site,  https://nmtracking.org/fire for guidance on mitigating your smoke exposure.  Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems are encouraged to take precautionary measures by staying inside during heavy smoke periods and avoiding outdoor activities.

SAFETY:  The Gila National Forest is currently under a campfire ban, including the use of charcoal. Use of pressurized fuel devices are acceptable.

A temporary flight restriction is in place over the fire area. Wildfires are a No Drone Zone. For more information visit Know Before You Fly, http://knowbeforeyoufly.org .