Lincoln National Forest: Outlaw Fire Evening Update 6/14/2021

Fire Update: The Outlaw Fire is now 30 acres. The fire’s incident commander will release a containment number tomorrow morning once ground crews complete their work this evening. The fire, which was detected this morning, is burning four miles southeast of White Oaks and 10 miles northwest of Capitan.

Today, four wildland fire engines, one helicopter, two single-engine airtankers, and one large airtanker worked to suppress the fire burning in ponderosa pine and piñon-juniper vegetation. Helicopters dropped buckets of water, and the airtankers were able to line the fire’s perimeter with fire retardant, significantly slowing the fire’s progression. As the sun sets and aircraft cannot fly due to the lack of visibility, ground crews will continue working into the night. They will attack the fire by working along the sides to construct fire line and eventually connect the fire lines at the head (aka front) of the fire. Additional ground crew resources will be arriving tomorrow.

Smoke: Smoke will continue to be visible from Carrizozo, White Oaks, Capitan, and surrounding roadways. Smoke will likely be heaviest in the morning and will drift northwest towards White Oaks and Highway 54 as the day continues. Smoke-sensitive people are encouraged to stay indoors and use an air conditioner with a filter if possible.

Weather: 

Overnight: Temperatures are forecasted to drop down to the low 60s overnight, and humidity levels should recover to around 50 percent. Lower temperatures and higher humidity levels typically mean lowered fire activity.

Tomorrow: Temperatures will be in the upper 80s, and humidity levels will drop to around 13 percent. Winds are predicted to be approximately 10-15 mph. There is no rain forecasted for the next few days.