McBride Fire – Monday, April 18, 2022 Daily Update

Acres: 6,159

Cause: Under investigation

Containment: 80%

Start Date: April 12, 2022

Location: Gavilan Canyon within the Village of Ruidoso

Fuels: Timber, brush, grasses

Structures burned: 207 primary structures, multiple outbuildings

Personnel: 432 Fatalities: 2 citizens

Highlights: With all evacuations lifted, Gavilan Canyon Road has re-opened. This will support all school bus routes once school resumes on Tuesday, April 19th.

Operations: The majority of work left to be completed is along the eastern fire’s edge. However, firefighters will have a presence in the communities to the west to address hotspots and mitigate hazard trees. Yesterday, crews were able to complete a full assessment with hotshot crews walking the entire perimeter. A reconnaissance flight was conducted to check the fire’s edge for hotspots. Observed fire activity was minimal with a few smoke columns being produced within the interior of the fire as winds increased throughout the day. Today, firefighters are working to increase the depth of mop up operations from the fire’s edge, working towards the interior to extinguish any remaining pockets of heat. Line construction is ongoing along the eastern, un-contained fire perimeter to tie multiple pieces of line together. This successful operation supported the containment increase to 80% yesterday evening.

With the increased containment and objectives being met across the fire area, the Incident Management Team will begin to release resources. This process is known as right-sizing the organization and makes resources available to assist with fires across the southwest. A group of firefighters remain available to assist with initial attack should a new fire start in the surrounding area. Helicopters are available to assist ground crews with water bucket drops.

Evacuations: All evacuations have been lifted as of 10:00 am on Sunday, April 17th. Crews remained onsite overnight and within the repopulated communities.

Safety: If you are not a resident, please stay out of active fire areas to allow crews safe access to the fire and surrounding area regardless of the open status if you are not a resident. There is a heavy presence of both firefighters and the utility companies working along Gavilan Canyon Road and the repopulated communities. This work will continue throughout the week. If you need to travel through the area, please reduce your speed and turn on your headlights to ensure both your safety and that of our crews working.

Weather: Temperatures will be in the low to mid 70s with winds out of the south, southeast. Expect winds 15-20 mph and gusts up to 30 mph. There is a low probability of thunderstorms developing near the fire area.

Restrictions/Closures: Gavilan Canyon Road has reopened. Please respect any restrictions and closures in place. Violations impede firefighter response and delay suppression activities.

A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place: Wildfires are a NO Drone Zone. Flying recreational and media drones within a TFR is illegal and impedes fire suppression efforts. Report drones to local law enforcement. If You Fly, We Can’t!

Fire Information:

Public 505-356-2636 Media 505-445-8278

InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8061/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/McBrideFire2022/

NM Fire Information: https://nmfireinfo.com/

Email: 2022.mcbride@firenet.gov