Fire Roundup, May 2

(Information here about the fires will be updated throughout the day.)

Apache Fire, San Bernardino NF, California.
The fire has not grown much--it's reported at 784 acres. They are throwing everything except the kitchen sink at it, with almost one person assigned per acre: 710 people, 30 hand crews, 7 4 air tankers, and 7 4 helicopters. Some of the terrain is EXTREMELY steep. Crews are working two consecutive day shifts and staying overnight on the mountain in spike camps. Incident Commander Carlton Joseph said the fire was caused by a cigarette. Here is a link to a MAP.

X Fire, Kaibab NF, Arizona.
Four people from Texas appeared in federal court Thursday on charges of allowing a fire to start from an unattended campfire. They became suspects when they shrewdly went back to the point of origin to retrieve their sleeping bag from their campsite the day after the fire started. I wonder if their thought process went like this: "Hmmm... should we just buy a new $50 sleeping bag, or risk six months in jail, five years' probation, a $5,000 fine, and $250,000 in fire suppression costs?"

Alan Burroughs, 23, of Tatum; Michael Zachary Dunn, 24, of Allen; and Lindsey Jo McKinley, 24, of Gilmer, were each charged with four counts of federal misdemeanors. The fire is still reported as being 2,048 acres and at 80% containment.

The photo shows Sean Murphy of the US Forest Service at the campsite where the X fire started, courtesy of AZCentral.com.

Trigo Fire, Cibola NF, 25 miles southeast of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Updated at 10:29 MT, April 2.
Strong winds again yesterday pushed the fire farther out of the Cibola National Forest into private land and structures. Conditions were too dangerous for fire personnel to go into the area to determine how many homes were lost. The community of Tajique was evacuated along with the subdivisions of Sherwood Forest and Hyde Estates. The community of Torreon remains evacuated. The fire has approached highway 55. Numerous structures threatened. The last report on the size of the fire today is 13,000 acres. Whitney's Type 1 Incident Management Team assumed command of the fire on May 1.

The weather today, Friday, should be about the same as the last two days, with 30 MPH winds gusting to over 40 out of the northwest with the relative humidity at 9%.

Torrance County Emergency Management will be holding daily updates at 1 p.m. in the Estancia Community Center until Evacuees have returned home. The Torrance County Emergency Information number concerning Evacuations and Road closures is 384-9634.

We will post a map when an updated version is available. See yesterday's post for a map that shows the perimeter available at that time.

Here is a video clip from KRQE TV in Albuquerque that was uploaded onto YouTube today.