Landowner efforts support firefighting on the Rincon Fire

June 18, 2021 Daily Update

Highlights: The Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team 4 hosted acommunity meeting last nightin the Mora High School Lecture Hall. Local residents attended in-person at the high school, while over 80 participants viewed the live video on Facebook. A full recording of the meeting is now available at https://facebook.com/santafeNF/. No account is required to view the video.

Operations: The incident management team continues to observe and assess the fire activity on the Rincon Fire. The New Mexico State Forestry Division and private landowners have completed a considerable amount of work to reduce the risk of fire spread across their lands. By proactively treating hazardous fuels across this landscape, these landowners have provided defensible space that firefighters can use to strategically plan for long-term containment of the fire. The Team has been focusing their efforts on maintaining these relationships and connecting with local landowners to gain valuable information to support their management strategies.

Weather: A few storms will move into the area late in the afternoon Friday and Saturday, with possible minimal rain falling across the fire. Temperatures should range anywhere from mid 70s at high elevation to upper 80s at lower elevation, prior to storms moving across the area. These storms may bring gusty and erratic outflow winds, with west to northwest winds setting up on Sunday into next week. Temperatures could be 10 degrees above normal and breezy conditions are expected Sunday and Monday.

Safety: The health and safety of firefighters and the public is the first priority. Members of the public are urged to stay away from the vicinity of the Rincon Fire. Backpackers planning to enter the Pecos Wilderness are advised to change their plans.

Restrictions: Due to ongoing drought and high fire danger, the Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) is implementing Stage 1 fire restrictions forest-wide with an order that took effect on Thursday, June 17. The west side of the Forest has been in Stage 1 fire restrictions since May 24. In addition, a Temporary Flight Restriction is in place over the area, which includes unmanned aircraft, or drones.

Closures: The Santa Fe National Forest has issued a closure order to protect public health and safety from June 16 through December 31, 2021, unless rescinded earlier. The closure order prohibits members of the public from entering the restricted area, including all Forest Service lands, roads and trails on the eastern side of the Pecos Wilderness within an area roughly defined by Jacks Creek Trail #257 and Beatty’s Trail #25 on the west to Skyline Trail #251 on the north to the Pecos Wilderness boundary on the east to Lone Pine Mesa Trail # 214, El Porvenir Trail #247 and Skyline Trail #251 on the south, then heading north to Iron Gate Trailhead and Jacks Creek Trailhead.

Smoke: Smoke from the Rincon Fire is visible within a 100-mile radius of the fire. An interactive smoke map at https://fire.airnow.gov/ allows you to zoom into your location to see the latest smoke information. Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures. Information on air quality and protecting your health can be found online at the New Mexico Department of Health Environmental Public Health Tracking website at https://nmtracking.org/fire.

Rincon Fire Information will be posted on Inciweb, SFNF Facebook and Twitter, SFNF website, and the New Mexico Fire Information website. If residents are interested in learning more about disaster preparation, please visit https://www.wildlandfirersg.org/ to read about the “Ready Set Go” program.

Email: 2021.rincon@firenet.gov •  Phone: (505) 445-8278 • Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM