Southwest Area Incident Management Team 1 – Daily Update for July 15th, 2025

Acres: 15,151
Start Date: 06/25/2025
Containment: 40%
Location: Gallina, NM
Cause: Lightning
Personnel: 251
Fuels: Oak brush, Pinyon-juniper, and mixed conifer
Resources: 3 crews | 6 engines | 3 helicopters | 2 water tenders | 2 dozer | 1 ambulance

Highlights: Firefighters continue working on patrolling and mitigating hazards, evaluating and increasing containment lines, and assessing options, especially in the difficult terrain in the areas of La Presa Canyon.

Fire Activity: Yesterday, on the western edge of the fire, firefighters verified that the line was cold and there was no fire growth. The majority of this section of the fire is now considered contained. Meanwhile, on the northwestern corner, crews worked into the evening on improving the containment line, connecting various roads to additional handlines. This work will continue today. East of this area, on the central and eastern edge of the fire, crews evaluated hot spots and worked to mitigate fire growth. This area of the fire continues to have the majority of the heat. The communities along the Rio Chama and Rio Gallina continue to have crews in the area, monitoring the Gallina Ranch and Monastery of Christ in the Desert while addressing areas with potentially hazardous fuel loads.

Today, firefighters will continue to work on building and securing the containment line, especially from the southeastern corner of the fire and towards La Presa Canyon. An unmanned aircraft system (UAS) has arrived on the fire and will be assisting firefighters today to locate and assess various hot spots and values at risk in the area of the Laguna Fire. As a reminder, there is a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) in the area, and unauthorized aircraft, including UAS, are not allowed within the TFR perimeter. If you fly, we can’t.

Weather: Drier air will begin pushing its way into northern New Mexico today as high pressure attempts to nose in from the Four Corners Region. This will help to temper thunderstorm development near the fire this afternoon. That said, isolated to scattered storms will remain in the forecast, with all the typical monsoon hazards. Even if storms do not directly impact the fire, nearby storms could result in sudden wind shifts and erratic gusts on the fireline.

Smoke: Area residents can expect to see continued smoke from the Laguna Fire. Please use caution when driving in the area. For the most up-to-date smoke information, visit https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/a60ea7fd?

Closures and Flight Restrictions: A closure order is in place for USFS lands in the area. To view the complete order, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/santafe/alerts/laguna-wildfire-closure-order. A new TFR will be in place starting at 9 p.m. today. For current TFR maps, visit https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr3/?page=list

Evacuations: Gallina Ranch remains in GO evacuation status, and the Monastery of Christ in the Desert remains in SET status. For complete information on evacuations in New Mexico, visit https://www.emnrd.nm.gov/sfd/fire-prevention-programs/ready-set-go-new-mexico/

Laguna Fire Incident Phone Number: 575-323-8964 (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.)
Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmsnf-laguna-wildfire
Email: 2025.laguna@firenet.gov

Links to further information can be found at https://linktr.ee/Incident_links?utm_source=qr_code

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