Seco Fire Crews Continue Work in Rugged Terrain

August 7, 2020

Grants, NM – For Immediate Release – The Seco Fire showed slight growth yesterday with continued isolated and group torching.  Due to more accurate GPS mapping, the size remains around 20 acres and is 0% contained. Crews made very good progress yesterday in building lines in the north and west sections of the fire. Today’s primary focus is to reinforce existing lines as well as extend containment lines around the southeast section of the fire. This is proving to be a difficult task as fire fighters work on very steep and rugged terrain. Helicopters are aiding firefighters on the ground with strategically placed water drops. Airtankers are another resource available to firefighters if the need arises. Firefighters will be closely watching for possible afternoon thunderstorms this afternoon which could bring erratic winds to the area.

The incident management team is working to fully suppress this fire burning on Forest Service land and is working closely with local cooperators.

Weather: Mostly sunny in the morning with scattered showers in the afternoon. Temperatures around 72°-82° with humidity in the upper teens to low 20’s. Winds will be terrain dominated at 5-10 mph.

Safety: Safety of the public and firefighters is always the top priority in wildland fire operations. Seco Fire operations include best management practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within firefighter crews/operations and within the general public.

No Drone Zone: The public is reminded to avoid the use of unmanned aerial systems (drones) near wildfires. If drones are illegally flown over a fire, air operations could be suspended. When this happens, fire crews lose a valuable resource, which can adversely affect the safety and efficiency of the overall firefighting effort. Law enforcement can take action against a private citizen or commercial business illegally flying drones over a wildfire. For more information on drones, see https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/uas/if-you-fly, and Know Before You Fly!

Smoke: Smoke may be visible from I-40, and throughout the local area including the Laguna Reservation. Smoke may be monitored if necessary to assess potential health impacts, and the Forest Service will coordinate with the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the New Mexico Environment Department and Department of Health to issue any needed alerts. Additional information can be found at http://nmtracking.org/fire.

Closures: There are currently no closures in place but the public is asked to stay out of the fire area as there is heavy fire traffic. There is a 5-mile temporary flight restriction (TFR) over the fire area to protect pilots and firefighters.

Seco Fire Information: 505-506-1959, 2020.seco@firenet.gov

Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6926/

New Mexico Fire Information: www.nmfireinfo.com

Facebook: Cibola National Forest & National Grasslands (@cibolanf) https://www.facebook.com/cibolanf/

Twitter: Cibola NF&Grasslands; (@Cibola_NF) https://twitter.com/cibola_nf?lang=en

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