Valles Caldera National Preserve. Courtesy photo
Thompson Ridge Fire
Acres: 23,903; Start date: May 31, 2013; Cause: Downed power line; Location: Valles Caldera National Preserve; Containment: 90 percent; Fuels: Mixed conifer and Ponderosa pine; Terrain: Steep, rugged; Resources: 2 crews, 5 engines, 6 water tenders, 2 dozers; Total personnel: 339 and Available air support: 3 helicopters.
Summary: Today at 6 a.m., the Arizona Central West Zone Incident Management Team completed a seamless transition of the fire to the Albuquerque Zone Type III Incident Management Team.
Central West Team dispatched 1092 firefighters and support personnel to fight the fire when it was at its peak.
Air operations recorded:
- 335 hours of flight time;
- 380,000 plus gallons of water dropped; and
- 80,000 gallons of retardant dropped.
It took a team from the New Mexico National Guard the better part of two days to reel in the 41 miles of fire hose that wound its way through the landscape.
For the fourth consecutive day fire activity was restricted to unburned fuels within the interior where a total offouracres have burned since Friday. Minimal fire activity is expected today while crews continue rehab and patrol of the perimeter. A weather change tomorrow is expected to bring an increase in winds and drier weather, which may increase fire activity within the interior.
The Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team will continue fire damage assessments and present its findings at a public meeting Thursday, 5:30–7:30 p.m. at the Valles Caldera Science and Education Center in Jemez Springs. For more information on BAER and directions to the meeting go to http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3430/ or call (707) 853-4243. Also for more information on how landowners can prepare for rain events see the attached BAER release or go to http://ow.ly/m97r3.
Open and active: Communities in and around the Santa Fe National Forest remain open and accessible including Jemez Springs, Jemez Pueblo, Santa Clara Pueblo, Los Alamos and Bandelier National Monument. Camping, hiking and other recreational opportunities are available in these areas.
Smoke: For more smoke information and air quality forecasts, please visit the New Mexico Environment Department’s website at http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/aqb and https://nmtracking.org/fire.
Closures: All points of entry to the Valles Caldera National Preserve are closed to public access due to fire activity. The Fenton Lake State Park is also closed to the public.
For more information regarding the fire, visit www.inciweb.org.
