Indios Fire continues to grow
May 25—A wildfire in Rio Arriba County north of the village of Coyote has continued to grow, with dry weather and strong winds expected through Saturday evening.
Nearly 2,350 acres had burned by midday Saturday, up from about 1,800 acres late Friday morning. Lightning sparked the fire May 19.
A specialized team, called the Southwest Area Complex Incident Management Team, will assume command of the fire Monday "with additional resources necessary to plan and manage this fire's long-term duration to meet the intent of letting fire play its natural role on the landscape," a Forest Service news release Saturday said.
Fire information staff will be available from noon to 1 p.m. Sunday and Monday across the street from Bode's near the Post Office in Abiquiú to answer questions from the public.
On Saturday, 195 people, including five firefighting crews, with one helicopter, five engines, two masticators, a road grader and a water tender were managing the blaze. The fire was zero percent contained, but hotshot crews had used helicopter water drops to cool the fire's edge, and crews were removing fuels between the fire's edge and fire lines, the news release said.
Temperatures in the area reached around 70 degrees Saturday with minimum humidity around 11-16% and wind gusts of up to 40 mph in the afternoon.
Smoke may affect local communities along N.M. 96, N.M. 112 and U.S. 84.
A large area around the fire remained closed, including in the Chama River Canyon Wilderness and National Forest lands in the Coyote Ranger District starting at the Continental Divide Trail No. 298 at N.M. 96, north across Forest Road 77 and through the wilderness to Skull Bridge on Forest Road 151. Visit inciweb.wildfire.gov for a map of the closures and fire.
Camping and water will be available at the Coyote Ranger Station for Continental Divide Trail hikers affected by the closure.
