Acres:7,457

Location: 8 miles North of Ruidoso, White Mountain Wilderness Area

Personnel: 802

Containment: 14%

Start Date: May 16, 2024

Cause: Lightning

Fuels: Timber/Grass/Brush

Resources: 17 crews | 32 engines | 8 helicopters | 3 bulldozers | 12 Water Tenders

Highlights: Yesterday, experienced moderate weather, which assisted firefighters in completing additional containment. The southern end of Soldier Mountain gained more containment lines as mop-up work continued in the area by fire crews on the ground. An additional containment line was achieved on the fire perimeter west of Granite Knob. Firefighters are working hard to be able to mop up along the fire’s edge to prepare for the forecasted hot and dry weather early next week.

Weather: Yesterday, humidity was high during the day until late afternoon which assisted firefighters to continue working safely around the perimeter. Storm clouds were seen at the eastern edge of the fire area, however the fire did not receive any moisture. During the evening, there was a drop in humidity due to southwesterly winds that dried out fine fuels. Today, higher humidity and wind are expected. Storm clouds will be seen during the day around the eastern side of the fire. Even though wind and storm clouds are expected, a major increase in fire behavior is not expected.

Smoke: Smoke production has decreased due to minimal fire activity. Thunderstorms predicted outside of the fire perimeter will produce downflow winds that could move some light smoke into surrounding areas. View an interactive smoke map at fire.airnow.gov/

Phone Number: 575-386-5077 (7 a.m. -7 p.m.)

Media Phone Number: 575-386-5108 (7 a.m. -7 p.m.)

Inciweb: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmlnf-blue-2-fire

Email: 2024.blue2@firenet.gov

Links to further information can be found at the QR code or https://linktr.ee/bluefire.2024

Operations: Yesterday, fire crews continued mopping up and securing lines along the 107 A road and Soldier Mountain. Heavy equipment has been successful in progressing the contingency lines that surround the fire. Structure protection will continually have a presence throughout the surrounding communities on both day and night shifts to ensure that communities are being monitored for any changes to the fire. Mop-up and patrol continue across the entire fire perimeter. Pumps, sprinklers, and water sources are being used to support structure protection and mop-up efforts. Handline on the eastern forest boundary near Enchanted Forest and Sun Valley continue to progress.

The Lincoln National Forest has issued an emergency area closure for the Blue 2 Fire. The closure order (No.03-08-24-0001) and map are available on Inciweb and the Lincoln National Forest website.

Evacuations: Evacuation levels remain unchanged. Evacuation shelters are expected to stay open over the weekend. Efforts are continually being made by fire crews to ensure that the fire perimeter is safe before repopulation of the surrounding communities. For an interactive evacuation map, go to tinyurl.com/Blue2Evacs

The Court Competition for this year’s Northern Fair & Rodeo is set for Saturday, June 8. The horsemanshop portion, which accounts for 20 percent of the score, will begin at 9 a.m. at Brewer Arena. The formal speeches before a panel of judges as well as the interviews of the contestants will be held at 12 p.m. at the Los Alamos Golf Course.

The event free and open to the public.

Male and female contestants from throughout Northern New Mexico, ages 6 and up, are invited to participate in the competition. This competition is a revamped program of the Los
Alamos County Queens Court Competition, that will allow for a larger age bracket for
participation, categories for males of all ages, and the removal of Los Alamos County resident
requirement to compete.

Categories are the following:
Category Grade Level
Jr. Sweetheart (Ages 6-9) Grades 1st – 3rd
Sweetheart (Ages 10-13) Grades 3rd – 8th
Princess / Prince (Ages 14 – 16) Grades 8th – 11th
Queen / King (Ages 17 – 25) Grades 12th – Sr. in College
Mrs. / Mr. (Ages 26+)

Each contestant will give a formal speech before a panel of judges and compete in a
horsemanship contest. Judging will be based on the following criteria: Horsemanship 20%;
Interview and Personality 40%; Public speaking 40%.

The competition will begin at Brewer Arena for the riding portion, and a candidate must furnish theirown horse, however, the mount may be borrowed. Accommodations will be made for the Jr. Sweetheart category.

After the riding section , the event will then move to Los Alamos Golf Course for the speech and
personality/interview section.

For those who are interested and would like to learn more, please refer to the application packet for theNorthern New Mexico Fair and Rodeo Royal Court Registration. The registration form can beturned in person at the Larry R. Walkup Aquatic Center in Los Alamos or submitted via email to lacnm.us. Call (505) 662-8176 for more information.

Related

SANTA FE, N.M. – A Santa Fe judge shot down a motion from Meta – the company behind Facebook and Instagram – to dismiss a sweeping lawsuit filed by the New Mexico Department of Justice.

Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed that lawsuit late last year, alleging Meta knowingly exposes children on its platforms to sexual exploitation. The lawsuit says it isn’t doing enough to protect those children from predators.

This is not the first time Meta has faced these accusations or even lawsuits. But it is one of the first to survive the company’s countermeasures.

“I just think it sends a signal. New Mexico is small but mighty,” said New Mexico Deputy Attorney General Julie Ann Meade. 

Meade is one of the lead prosecutors challenging the largest social media company in the world to do better.

“The lawsuit is alleging that through Meta’s decisions and design and features, is creating an online environment that causes harm,” said Meade. 

While previous lawsuits against Meta revolved around mental health, the New Mexico Department of Justice is focused on the sexual exploitation of children.

“New Mexico decided to take a look at this and conducted some investigations, which revealed real issues around child pornography, and child trafficking,” Meade said. 

The lawsuit argues Facebook and Instagram are, “A breeding ground for predators who target children for human trafficking, the distribution of sexual images, grooming and solicitation.” Despite company policies and statements insisting they are safe for children.

According to the lawsuit, Department of Justice investigators set up several fake profiles of children and discovered the platform’s algorithms regularly exposed those accounts to sexual content and potential predators.

The suit argues Meta knows that’s happening and is making money off it through targeted ads. That’s where the DOJ is sinking its teeth.

“We are raising these claims against Meta based on their design and features, not on third party content, and so that’s the distinction,” said Meade. 

Despite multiple attempts from Meta to dismiss the lawsuit, a Santa Fe judge is allowing it to move forward in state court.

“It’s impactful because that means there’s clear indication that there is harm directly here in New Mexico,” Meade said. 

Meade says the end goal is forcing Meta to implement the guardrails many users already believe exist.

“The end goal would be to effectuate change in how these online platforms work, and make sure that they’re the design features are continuing to consider what really needs to be in place to protect children’s mental well-being, physical well-being and health and welfare,” said Meade. 

KOB 4 reached out to Meta for a comment Friday and did not hear back. The judge did allow a motion to remove Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg from the lawsuit.

Meade says both sides are now heading into the evidence collecting phase, but it’s not clear when this case will come before a judge again.