Daily Update, Wednesday, July 3, 2024

Mescalero Apache Tribe Emergency Operations Center: 575-464-9214 (8am-6pm) 

Village of Ruidoso and Lincoln County Emergency Operations Center: 575-258-6900 (7am-10pm) 

Fire Information Phone:575-323-8378 or 575-323-8258 (8am-8pm) 

Media Information Phone: 575-323-8053 (8am-8pm) 

Email: 2024.southfork@firenet.gov 

Acres: South Fork – 17,569; Salt – 7,939

Start Date: June 17, 2024 

Location: South Fork – Ruidoso Area, Salt – 7 miles west of Mescalero, NM

Personnel: 532

Containment: South Fork – 87%; Salt – 84% 

Fuels: mixed conifer, grass, pine/juniper  

Resources: The South Fork and Salt fires are currently staffed with 11 crews, 1 helicopter, 16 engines,  
2 bulldozers, and 5 water tenders. 

Highlights:  

Fireworks – Fireworks are always prohibited on the Lincon National Forest. On the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation, fireworks are only allowed as part of an organized event. 

Fire restrictions – Fire restrictions have been updated for Mescalero Apache Tribal lands. Details available in “Closures”, below. 

Flood mitigation – On Tuesday, crews once again supported flood mitigation efforts, filling an  

additional 28,000 sandbags for the community, bringing the 2-day total of filled sandbags to over  

46,000. 

Fire Activity: Fire activity remains limited on the South Fork and Salt fires. Remaining heat sources on the South Fork Fire are downed logs away from control lines. Hot spots on the Salt Fire remain within dense conifer stands and snags and do not threaten containment.  

Suppression repair crews will work across the South Fork and Salt fire area today. If conditions permit, crews will focus on repair of bulldozer roads and hand lines as well as chipping operations. 

While monsoon season is in progress across the region, dry fuels are still present due to the continuation of the long-term drought affecting the area. Large diameter fuels, like dead/down logs, are dry for this time of year. As the 4th of July holiday approaches, please refrain from using fireworks, as these can cause new ignitions in dry persistent dry fuels.  

Weather: Wednesday brings light clouds across the fire area, temperatures in the mid-80s and light potential for scattered rain. The remainder of the week will include a mix of warm, dry weather, followed by more scattered storms. 

Closures and Restrictions: A South Fork Fire Emergency Closure Order was issued on June 20, 2024, for national forest lands within the Smokey Bear Ranger District. More information is available at www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/lincoln/alerts-notices/?aid=88199.  

The Mescalero Apache Tribe issued an updated Class V/Stage II – Extreme Fire Restriction Notice on July 1, 2024. More information is available on the Mescalero Apache Tribe Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mescaleroapachetribe. 

A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the fire area. Public/commercial drone flights are also prohibited within this area. If you fly, we may have to ground our air resources. Visit https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html for more information. 

More information:  

Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmmea-south-fork-and-salt  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SWIMT5  

Lincoln County Government: www.lincolncountynm.gov 

Mescalero Apache Tribe: https://mescaleroapachetribe.com   

Village of Ruidoso: www.ruidoso-nm.gov/south-fork-fire 

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All Probationer’s/Parolees

The Mescalero Probation Department will be close for the 4^th of July and Ceremonial Holiday, if your required to call in/check in weekly. Please call into your probation officer on your required call in/check in date. From July 4^th through July 8^th 2024. The Probation Department will re-open Tuesday, July 9^th.  

Nena Evans                 575-551-1822

Rosynelle Smith          575-921-5123

Anna Scott                  575-921-5114

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If you still want to help, then we encourage you to donate to fundraisers intended to support recovery efforts for the Village of Ruidoso, Ruidoso Downs, and Alto. Thank you to everyone that donated. Your support means a lot.

Official link of the GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/426794a2

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Head Start Enrollment Days July 9th & 10th at the Mescalero Library from 9AM to 3PM

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Daily Update, Tuesday, July 2, 2024 

Mescalero Apache Tribe Emergency Operations Center: 575-464-9214 (8am-6pm) 

Village of Ruidoso and Lincoln County Emergency Operations Center: 575-258-6900 (7am-10pm) 

Fire Information Phone:575-323-8378 or 575-323-8258 (8am-8pm) 

Media Information Phone: 575-323-8053 (8am-8pm) 

Email: 2024.southfork@firenet.gov 

Acres: South Fork – 17,569; Salt – 7,939

Start Date: June 17, 2024 

Location: South Fork – Ruidoso Area, Salt – 7 mile west of Mescalero, NM

Personnel: 608

Containment: South Fork – 85%; Salt – 84% 

Fuels: mixed conifer, grass, pine/juniper  

Resources: The South Fork and Salt fires are currently staffed with 13 crews, 1 helicopter, 21 engines,  
2 bulldozers, and 6 water tenders. 

Highlights: The fire area saw clearer skies on Monday, allowing firefighters to focus their efforts on supporting flood mitigation operations on the South Fork fire. In total, hotshots and support crews filled 18,000 sandbags in support of these efforts. Additionally, structure assessment crews have successfully triaged over 4,000 structures across the fire area. 

Fire Activity: The South Fork and Salt fires received consistent isolated and scattered precipitation for several days. Thanks to this moisture, hot spots on the South Fork remain suppressed and will remain quiet until a drying trend occurs. Remaining heat sources on the South Fork fire are located interior of control lines and do not post a threat to the perimeter. 

On the Salt Fire, firefighters have observed a few hot spots on the southeast corner. Fire within this area will continue to smolder and produce small amounts of localized smoke. Smoke with not impact nearby roadways and heat sources are unlikely to grow, nor do they pose a threat to containment lines.  

Weather: After a calmer weather day on Monday, Tuesday will bring an increase in scattered storm activity. Maintain awareness of changing weather conditions and flash flood warnings.  

Closures: A South Fork Fire Emergency Closure Order was issued on June 20, 2024, for national forest lands within the Smokey Bear Ranger District. The identified areas, and roads and trails therein, are closed to public access to allow firefighting personnel to work and through the fire area safely. More information is available at www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/lincoln/alerts-notices/?aid=88199.  

The Mescalero Apache Tribe issued a Class V/Stage II – Extreme Fire Restriction Notice on June 28, 2024. More information is available at https://mescaleroapachetribe.com.  

A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the fire area. Public/commercial drone flights are also prohibited within this area. If you fly, we may have to ground our air resources. Visit https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html for more information. 

More information:  

Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmmea-south-fork-and-salt  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SWIMT5  

Smoke Outlook: https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/430b2c05 

Lincoln County Government: www.lincolncountynm.gov 

Mescalero Apache Tribe: https://mescaleroapachetribe.com   

Village of Ruidoso: www.ruidoso-nm.gov/south-fork-fire 

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The FEMA Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) will be set-up at the Mescalero Apache Schools from 8AM-6PM starting July 3rd.

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Sandbags are available to homeowners due to flooding. Call the Tribe’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for more information 575-464-4341.

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For informational purposes only.

Here’s a DIY video of flood barriers provided by Flood Defense Group YouTube channel. The Mescalero Apache Tribe is not held liable for the success or failure in the demonstrations homeowners choose to follow within this video.

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