Overview
- The wildfire began earlier this month in the Pecos Wilderness after lightning ignitions and has since spread through steep ponderosa timber and heavy dead fuels, which complicate containment efforts.
- The latest Forest Service update records the blaze at 7,794 acres with 0% containment and 182 personnel assigned while additional resources are en route.
- Santa Fe County has issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents on Camino de Cañon in Cundiyo and placed nearby neighborhoods on staged Set/Ready evacuation status with a shelter open at Pojoaque Valley Middle School.
- Ground crews are building dozer and hand lines, installing sprinkler systems and protecting structures while aircraft are dropping water and retardant and a Temporary Flight Restriction is in place after a drone incursion halted aviation operations.
- Hot, dry conditions and gusty, terrain-driven winds are expected to continue influencing fire behavior and smoke from the blaze is degrading air quality across communities along I-25, creating public-health and travel concerns.