Jurisdiction: Smokey Bear Ranger District
Fire Size: 6100 acres
Containment: 0%
Cause: Unknown, Under Investigation
Resources: 9 Engines, 1 Type-1 Hotshot Crew, 1 Large Air Tanker, 2 Air Attack, 1 Helicopter. Multiple additional resources have been ordered and will be arriving as soon as possible.
Date/Time Detected: 8:46am, Monday, April 26, 2021
Location: The fire started half a mile north of Three Rivers Campground and has spread almost to Ski Apache and into the South Fork Bonito area.
Evacuations: Evacuation notices are in place for the following areas
- Nogal Canyon Area
- Bonito Canyon Area
- Tanbark
- Church
- Ranchman’s Camp
- Loma Grande
- Cora Dutton
- Magado
- Ski Apache
Evacuation Centers
- Nazarene Church Camp at 200 Bonito Park Rd. Alto, NM 88316
- Capitan Senior Center at 412 Tiger Drive Capitan, NM 88316
- Ruidoso Downs Senior Center at 393 Highway 70 West Rd. Ruidoso Downs, NM 88346.
(Evacuees with livestock can take their animals to Lincoln County Fairgrounds at 101 5th St. Capitan, NM. Please call 575-336-8600 if you need assistance transporting your animals.)
Road Closures
- Ski Run Road
- Bonito Canyon Road aka Rd 107
- Nogal Canyon Road aka 400
- Three Rivers Trailhead and Campground
- Monjeau at Sierra Vista
Fire Update: The Three Rivers Fire is currently 6100 acres and 0% contained. There are no reported injuries. No structures have burned. Cooler temperatures and precipitation moved into the area earlier than forecasted and is dropping rain and snow on parts of the fire this morning. Temperatures and wind are expected to pick up this afternoon, which will cause fire activity to increase once again. A Type-1 Incident Management Team will be briefed this afternoon and take command of the fire tomorrow morning. Today fire crews are working to secure the south side of the fire with direct fire line construction. Crews are also scouting the north and eastern perimeter of the fire for optimal locations to construct fire line. Firefighters will be doing point protection and structure protection for critical areas. The fire started yesterday morning, approximately half a mile from the Three Rivers Campground on the backside of the White Mountains of the Smokey Bear Ranger District but has spread almost to Ski Apache and into the South Fork and Bonito area. Aircraft including air tankers and helicopters are assigned to the fire and will be utilized where it is safe to do so. Additional firefighting resources will be arriving throughout the day. There have been no reported injuries.
Smoke: Smoke has dissipated this morning but is expected to pick up again this afternoon as fire activity increases. Smoke may be visible from Highway 54 and will likely move to the northeast into the adjacent communities of Alto, Capitan, and Ruidoso. Please visit the NM Department of Health’s smoke page for information on protecting your health during fires and on smoky days: https://nmtracking.org/fire.
You can expect another post this evening.
From New Mexico Fire Information
Above: Snow is falling on the Three Rivers Fire this morning, Tuesday, April 27, 2021.
Above: Three Rivers Fire yesterday, April 26, 2021.
