UPDATE: Blue 2 Fire will keep Bonito Lake closed

Jocelyn Flores
·2 min read

UPDATE: Bonito Lake Road/Forest Service Road 107 and the Bonito Lake area are closed due to the spreading of the Blue 2 fire, according to the City of Alamogordo.

Crews are working to contain the fire and will be dipping water from Bonito Lake to aid in their efforts.
Bonito Lake was scheduled to open for fishing on May 25 after being closed for more than a
decade after the Little Bear fire in 2012. The lake and road will remain closed until further notice.
Please check road and fire conditions before entering the area.

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — After more than a decade of being closed, Bonito Lake is set to open to anglers in time for Memorial Day weekend.

According to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, Bonito Lake will open to the public on Saturday, May 25. The lake is located almost 13 miles northwest of Ruidoso, New Mexico.

Bonito Lake, owned by the City of Alamogordo, was filled with sediment after the 2012 Little Bear Fire.

According to the Department of Game and Fish, the City has made extensive efforts to remove the sediment and restore the lake.

Angler fishing from Lake Bonito. <em>Photo courtesy to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish</em>.
Angler fishing from Lake Bonito. Photo courtesy to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

The City of Alamogordo and the Department of Game and Fish signed an agreement through the Department’s “Open Gate Access” program to allow angling to resume at the lake.

Anglers at Bonito Lake can only allow fishing from the lakeshore in open areas, excluding the shore near the dam and Bonito Creek inlet.

Lake Bonito. Photo courtesy to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Lake Bonito. Photo courtesy to the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish

According to the Department, access to the lake is allowed 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Camping, boating, building fires, swimming, and other outdoor activities are not permitted. Signs posted at Bonito Lake’s entrance will provide visitors with a full list of rules with details.

The Department will stock the lake with rainbow trout before Saturday’s opening along with Brook trout. Both fish species can be harvested by licensed anglers under the statewide five-trout-per-day bag limit.

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