Blue 2 Fire Update, June 6, 2024

Online community meeting planned for tonight        

Daily Update: June 6, 2024

Acres: 7,532                                                                                                    

Start Date: May 16, 2024

Location: 8 miles North of Ruidoso, White Mountain Wilderness Area              

Cause: Lightning

Personnel: 318                                                                                                  

Fuels: Timber/Grass/Brush

Containment: 83%                                                                              

Resources: 4 crews | 12 engines | 2 helicopters | 2 bulldozers | 1 water tender | 3 masticators

Highlights: The entire eastern side of the fire is now contained. Firefighters continue work on repairing any impacts from suppression efforts. A virtual community meeting is planned for tonight Thursday, June 6 at 7:30 pm. The meeting will be broadcast live on the Blue 2 Fire Facebook page. The public will be provided an opportunity to ask questions about fire operations and post-fire recovery.

Operations: Repair of land disturbed by dozer and handline continues. Firefighters spread grass seed to encourage revegetation. Crews and equipment install water diversion features to limit erosion. Excavators pull wind rows of brush back onto the northern dozer line. Masticators continue to work on the Forest boundary, west of the communities. Drones and crews monitor for any detectable hot spots along the remaining uncontained fire edge. Hose lines and sprinklers are backhauled and prepared for return to the national cache. As firefighters finish their work, they leave the incident to return home or head to other fires. Law enforcement continues to enforce the forest closure so firefighters can safely complete their work.   

Weather: A significant shift in the weather pattern across the region will result in moderating fire weather conditions, lower wind speeds, and increased relative humidity. Chances of wetting rain are increasing, but storms may bring dry lightning and gusty and erratic outflow winds.

Smoke: The fire is producing minimal smoke. Surrounding communities will see good air. Transported smoke or other particulate matter, may create hazy skies on occasion. The interactive smoke map can still be found at fire.airnow.gov/

Closures: In the interest of public safety, camping and other recreation activities in the Bonito Lake Area are still restricted due to ongoing firefighter activities. The Forest closure order will continue to remain in effect for the White Mountain Wilderness Area.

Evacuations: All evacuation statuses have been lifted.For an interactive evacuation map go to tinyurl.com/Blue2Evacs

Safety: A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the area, which includes uncrewed aircraft systems or drones. Find the TFR at tfr.faa.gov/tfr_map_ims/html/