MIMBRES, N.M., Dec.12 – The Wilderness Ranger District on the Gila National Forest has cancelled the Cooney Canyon slash pile burns scheduled to begin Dec. 14, approximately six miles north of the Mimbres Valley. Fire staff concluded that the current fuel moistures, predicted relative humidity, and upcoming dry and warm weather forecast are not suitable […]

Favorable weather conditions in place for hazardous fuels reduction work Silver City, NM, Sept. 16— Gila National Forest is planning prescribed fire operations this fall, pending all required approvals. We estimate this work to continue through the spring as weather conditions allow. We use prescribed fires to help reduce overgrown vegetation to help protect local […]

Wildfire in Gila Wilderness caused by lightning August 1 Silver City, NM, Aug. 7, 2025—The Daisy Fire transitioned from management by local Gila National Forest resources to an ad hoc Type 3 incident management team under Incident Commander Dustin Roper as of 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 6, 2025. The fire is located approximately 16 miles […]

Area closure provides for firefighter and public health and safety Silver City, NM, July 15, 2025—The Gila National Forest has implemented a public safety area closure for the protection of firefighter and public health and safety during wildfire operations on the Goose Fire. The closure went into effect at 6:00 a.m. Tuesday, July 15 and […]

Fire Danger remains Very High Silver City, NM, July 7, 2025—As a result of recent precipitation and cooler temperatures, Gila National Forest Supervisor Camille Howes rescinded fire restrictions as of 8:00 a.m. today, July 7, 2025. The shift in weather conditions has combined to reduce the risk of human-caused wildfires. Weather forecasters are calling for continued […]

Silver City, NM, June 30, 2025 – Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) specialists recently completed their field data evaluation to produce the Soil Burn Severity (SBS) map for the Trout Fire, which field verifies unburned/very low, low, moderate, and high SBS categories from satellite imagery. The SBS map estimates approximately 9,996 acres (20%) […]

Silver City, NM, June 26, 2025—A Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team, led by Mike Natharius, began making burned area surveys of the Trout Fire yesterday. BAER team assessments are rapid evaluations of post-fire conditions of the burned landscape to determine the level of risk from potential flooding and debris flow to values on National […]

New Mexico Highway 15 closed to public traffic Silver City, NM, June 12, 2025—The Trout Fire grew eastward today, crossing over New Mexico Highway 15 and resulting in closure of the highway to public traffic from the Highway 15/35 intersection south to the Ben Lilly Memorial. The Gila Las Cruces Type 3 Incident Command Team […]

Meadow and Trout fires are 15 miles north of Silver City Silver City, NM, June 12, 2025—Firefighters are responding to two new wildfires approximately 15 miles north of Silver City. The fires are located east and west of New Mexico Highway 15, in the Meadow Creek and Sheep Corral areas. The Meadow Fire was reported […]

Gila Las Cruces Type 3 Incident Management Team Achieves 12% Containment on Paradise Fire Acres: 727                                                                                                  Start Date: Monday, May 26, 2025Location: 13 miles south of Quemado, NM                                                                                         Personnel: 146Containment: 12%                                                                                               Cause: Human-caused, under investigation Summary: Crews worked to bring the Paradise Fire to 12% containment on Wednesday under command of the Gila Las Cruces […]

Gila Las Cruces Type 3 Incident Management Team assumes command Acres: 578                                                                                                  Start Date: Monday, May 26, 2025Location: 13 miles south of Quemado, NM                                                                                         Personnel: 115Containment: 0%Cause: Human-caused, under investigation Summary: The Gila Las Cruces Type 3 Incident Management Team assumed command of the Paradise Fire yesterday evening. The Paradise Fire is burning in ponderosa […]

Local firefighting resources are responding to three wildland fires in the Grant County area, including the Carrizo, Outlaw, and Gallinas fires. The string of fires were started by lightning strikes early this morning. They are located east of San Lorenzo and south of New Mexico Highway 152. The Carrizo Fire is 20-acres, burning in grass, […]

Wind Event Moves in as Team Prepares to Transfer Command to the Gila National Forest Acres: 482                                                     Start Date: Sunday, May 4, 2025Location: 38 miles east of Glenwood, NM                                                                                   Personnel: 142Containment: 100%                                                                                               Cause: Lightning Summary: This will be the FINAL press release for the Iron Fire. The fire is 100% contained as of Monday afternoon. No […]

Helicopters Support Final Operations as Resources Exit Fireline Safely Acres: 482                                                                                     Start Date: Sunday, May 4, 2025 Location: 38 miles east of Glenwood, NM                                       Personnel: 173 Containment: 92%                                                                         Cause: Lightning Summary: Mop-up operations continue across the fire area, with crews now working to a depth of up to 100 feet where conditions allow. This effort […]

Ground Mapping Completed as Containment Increases Acres: 482                                                                                     Start Date: Sunday, May 4, 2025 Location: 38 miles east of Glenwood, NM                                       Personnel: 200 Containment: 77%                                                                         Cause: Lightning Summary: Ground-based GPS mapping of the Iron Fire has been completed, providing a highly accurate and detailed representation of the final fire perimeter. The fire has been mapped […]

Firefighters Begin Ground Mapping; Snow Lake Reopens for Public Use Acres: 637                                                                               Start Date: Sunday, May 4, 2025 Location: 38 miles east of Glenwood, NM                                 Personnel: 183 Containment: 45%                                                                   Cause: Lightning Summary: Firefighters initiated a ground-based GPS perimeter walk yesterday to improve the accuracy of fire mapping. While the effort is still underway, the northern […]