EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Iron Fire, burning in the Gila Wilderness north of Silver City, is now at 92 percent containment and firefighters are expected to be off the fireline by Sunday night, fire officials said in an update issued on Sunday, May 11.
The fire, burning 38 miles east of Glenwood, New Mexico, in the 2012 Whitewater Baldy burn scar, started on Sunday, May 4 and was caused by lightning, fire officials said.
Wind quickly fanned the fire that first day and it was initially estimated to have reached 901 acres. Those size estimates have been downgraded as fire crews have been able to use GPS and walk-arounds to get a better idea of its scope during the past few days.
Mop-up operations continue across the fire area. This effort involves extinguishing smoldering fuels, cooling hot spots, and mitigating hazards that could lead to re-ignition, fire officials said.
“With containment now at 92%, the Incident Management Team remains confident in the strength of established control lines and the work completed over the past week,” fire officials said.
Helicopters are assisting with the removal of gear and supplies. Crews are being released from the fireline ahead of a forecasted “wind event” for early this week with gusts expected to reach 45 mph, fire officials said.
“These conditions pose risks to aerial operations and ground crews due to the presence of hazard trees. To ensure the safety of all personnel, equipment and firefighters will be off the fireline by this (Sunday) evening,” fire officials said in their update.
Road grading continues along Bursum Road to New Mexico Highway 12. Motorists are urged to use caution, slow down and turn on their headlights.
A temporary flight restriction remains in effect over the fire area. Unauthorized drone use poses a “serious risk” to aerial firefighting operations, fire officials said.
Smoke throughout the fire area is minimal and is expected to remain low. There is potential during the wind event forecasted for Monday and Tuesday that smoke may become visible. This smoke will be within the interior of the fire as fuels such as heavy, downed logs continue to burn. For real-time smoke conditions, visit: fire.airnow.gov.
Stage 2 Fire Restrictions are in place on the Gila National Forest. For full details, visit: www.fs.usda.gov/r03/gila/alerts.
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