EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A fire at the Mescalero Apache Reservation has grown to close to 20 acres in just four hours on Monday, June 17, according to the Village of Ruidoso’s Facebook page.
The Village of Ruidoso is calling this the South Fork Fire. The Mescalero Apache Reservation is about three miles from Ruidoso, New Mexico.
A “Go” status for the Upper Canyon and Brandy Canyon area has been issued and anyone in the area needs to evacuate immediately, according to the Facebook page.
The backend of Cedar Creek is being put on “Set” status. Anyone in the area needs to be prepared to evacuate if notified, according to a Facebook page.
An evacuation shelter has been established at the Ruidoso Convention Center.
The Mescalero Apache Tribe says the Bureau of Indian Affairs Mescalero Agency is the lead agency responding to this incident and is implementing a “full suppression” response.
Ground resources were pulled back from the fire line due to the increased fire activity and fire suppression is only happening by air at this time, according to the tribe.
There is currently one hot shot crew, a large air tanker, and three helicopters on scene. Another large air tanker and another helicopter have been ordered and two more hotshot crews are en route.
No further information has been released. This story will be updated once we learn more.
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