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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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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Evacuation site at the IMG Convention Center will remain OPEN due to flooding.

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Daily Update, Monday, July 1, 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: 690

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

Fuels: mixed conifer, grass, pine/juniper  

Resources: The South Fork and Salt fires are currently staffed with 16 crews, 3 helicopters, 24 engines,  
2 bulldozers, and 7 water tenders. 

Highlights: Longer-duration rains fell across the fire area on Sunday with totals ranging from 2-5″, causing severe flash flooding. Flooding will continue to pose a threat as afternoon storms pass across the South Fork and Salt fires on Monday.  

Fire Activity: The South Fork and Salt fires received significant rain late in the day on Saturday, further suppressing the remaining heat sources. The majority of remaining heat sources on the South Fork Fire are actively charring downed logs, located interior of control lines. 

Structure assessments are nearing completion. Additionally, crews on the South Fork and Salt Fires will focus on flood mitigation today. Suppression repair work on constructed containment lines will continue when safe to do so.  

Weather: The South Fork and Salt fires experienced intense scattered thunderstorms on Sunday, resulting in flooding and debris flows. Residents and visitors are advised to stay apprised of changing weather conditions and heed flood watches and warnings. Seeker higher ground during afternoon storms, if possible. 

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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Daily Update, Sunday, June 30, 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: 725

Containment: South Fork – 79%; Salt – 84% 

Fuels: mixed conifer, grass, pine/juniper  

Resources: The South Fork and Salt fires are currently staffed with 17 crews, 3 helicopters, 25 engines,  
2 bulldozers, and 8 water tenders. 

Highlights: Flash floods were observed across the fire area on Saturday. Flooding will continue to pose a threat as afternoon storms pass across the South Fork and Salt fires.  

Fire Activity: Fire activity remains minimal across the South Fork and Salt fires. While some hot spots are present within the fire area, heat sources are more than 150′ from the closest perimeter/holding lines and pose no threat to containment. 

Today, crews will focus on constructing direct control lines on the west side of the incident to protect values 

at risk and further increase containment as weather and road conditions allow. Mop up along established control lines is also underway and will continue for the foreseeable future. Additionally, suppression repair work on constructed containment lines and structure assessments will continue where appropriate and safe to do so.  

Weather: The South Fork and Salt fires experienced intense scattered thunderstorms on Saturday, resulting in flooding and debris flows. Sunday temperatures will remain in the mid-80s with continued chance of scattered storms.  

Smoke: As monsoon moisture continues, very little smoke will be present.  When temperatures increase, and thunderstorms decrease, pockets of heat may produce light amounts of smoke. Additional details are available at https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/430b2c05. 

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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Daily Update, Saturday, June 29, 2024

Mescalero Apache Tribe Emergency Operations Center: 575-464-9214 (8am-12am)

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.govAcres: 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: 780

Containment: South Fork – 77%; Salt – 77%

Fuels: mixed conifer, grass, pine/juniper                                          

Resources: The South Fork and Salt fires are currently staffed with 18 crews, 4 helicopters, 31 engines,
4 bulldozers, and 10 water tenders. 

Highlights: As of today, Saturday June 29, the South Fork and Salt fires burned roughly 25,000 acres across private, public, and tribal lands.

Mescalero Apache Reservation evacuation and donation sites: Evacuation sites on the Mescalero Apache Reservation are now closed. Donations will be taken and distributed to tribal members in need at the Inn of the Mountain Gods’ convention center from 9 AM – 4 PM daily. FEMA is located outside the Mescalero Community Center from 8 AM – 6:30 PM (until further notice). They are assisting the public with general government assistance (unemployment, EBT, etc.). 

Village of Ruidoso reentry: All No Entry/Exclusion zones are now open. There are still firefighters, firefighting equipment, utility company workers and vehicles travelling through the area.  Their work is critical to restore utilities and services, and conditions in the exclusion zones pose a safety risk to the emergency personnel as well as the public. Please be patient and allow them to complete their work. Contact the Village of Ruidoso and Lincoln County Emergency Operations Centers for more information. 

Fire Activity: Friday’s clear skies, warmer temperatures, and decreased humidity created an environment favorable for the remaining isolated heat sources to dry out and increase combustion rates, making them easier to detect and extinguish. Additionally, thanks to infrared detection, ten remaining hot spots were identified and are a primary focus for firefighters this weekend. Crews will also conduct suppression repair, including chipping operations near Villa Madonna and repairing dozer lines where needed. 

Weather: The South Fork and Salt fires experienced a brief drying trend as scattered showers moved away from the area Thursday through Friday. Saturday brings with it warmer temperatures and increased potential for scattered afternoon rains. 

Smoke: Smoke will continue to have the biggest impact during the late overnight and morning hours for areas near the fires. Additional details are available at https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/430b2c05.

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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