Laguna Wildfire Daily Update July 9, 2025

July 10, 2025 by SFNFPAO 0 Comments

Forest Service News Release

Laguna Wildfire Daily Update

Andrew Nordquist – Incident Commander

July 9, 2025

Acres: 8,433

Start Date: 6/25/2025

Completion: 65 %

Location: Located in the Coyote Ranger District, 8 miles north of New Mexico State Road 96 and west of the Chama River Canyon Wilderness.

Personnel: 169

Fuels: Oak brush, ponderosa pine, pinyon-juniper

Resources: 3 hotshot crews, 1 Type 2 Initial Attack crew, 2 suppression modules, 3 engines, 3 water tenders (2 support; 1 tactical), 1 Rapid Extrication Module Support Team.

Highlights: Fire crews continued strategic firing operations by utilizing both hand and aerial ignition to further buffer the northern boundary while hand firing control lines all the way to the southern boundary and bringing fire west towards Forest Road 8. To conduct a firing operation, firefighters cut away vegetation to make a line of bare soil ahead of a fire and then using aerial and hand ignitions burn the vegetation between that line and the actively burning fire front.

Weather: West winds will continue to diminish this evening and overnight, becoming light and southeasterly. West winds will be stronger tomorrow afternoon when the humidity will likely drop below 15 percent for a few hours. There is a low chance of gusty and erratic winds from nearby dry storms and virga showers Thursday afternoon, but models are showing this activity east of the wildfire.

Smoke: Smoke cleared overnight and GOOD to MODERATE conditions were present across the area this morning. Smoke may be visible from communities near the fire as well as from Los Alamos, Santa Fe and Albuquerque this afternoon but significant impacts at the surface are not expected. Overnight smoke is expected to settle in low lying areas below the fire, including the Rio Chama river valley and in those communities along NM State Road 96, where smoke will be clear in the morning with increased winds.

Over the next few days temperatures will remain high with continued chances of gusty winds associated with dry thunderstorms which could lead to smoke at the surface especially in the afternoons. While conditions may change rapidly, any smoke impacts should be short in duration and overall conditions should remain in the GOOD to MODERATE range.
Safety: The health and safety of firefighters and the public are always the highest priority. Please avoid the area while crews manage the Laguna Wildfire. Drones and firefighting aircraft are a dangerous mix and could lead to accidents or slow down wildfire operations. If you fly, we can’t.   

Closures: : Closure Order 03-10-01-25-08 is in place and includes all National Forest System lands, roads, and trails within Township 24N Range 1E Sections 1,2,11,12,13,14,23,24,25,26 and Township 24N Range 2E Sections 4-9 and Sections14-32 and Township 25N Range 1E Sections 25,35,36 and Township 25N Range 2E Sections 30-32 of the New Mexico Principal Meridian within the Coyote Ranger District. The purpose of this Order is to protect the public’s health and safety during firefighting operations for the Laguna Wildfire. See attached map for the closure area.

About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.

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