Connect with us

New Mexico

Laguna Wildfire Daily Update – July 15, 2025

Published

on

Laguna Wildfire Daily Update – July 15, 2025


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.

Advertisement

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/

Advertisement

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

###



Source link

Advertisement

New Mexico

Grants cancels Christmas parade due to shootings

Published

on

Grants cancels Christmas parade due to shootings


GRANTS, N.M. – The City of Grants is canceling this year’s annual Christmas light parade, citing the safety of the public and their own officers.

Dozens of floats were supposed to roll down Santa Fe Avenue on Saturday night, but Grants police are holding off until next year after three incidents where someone shot at law enforcement officers.

“It was definitely a difficult decision, but due to the incident that took place on December 8, where law enforcement was shot at in the area of Santa Fe Avenue, we made that decision to protect the citizens of Grants,” says Grants Police Chief Maxine Monte.

She says a New Mexico State Police officer was shot at while making a traffic stop. The officer walked away uninjured, but this was too much for the chief.

Advertisement

“We’ve had three different incidents where law enforcement was shot at. One was May of 2025, the other one was August of 2025, and then the recent event of December 8 of 2025,” says Monte.

It’s not a risk the chief wants to take, and points out people would be standing exactly where the last shooting happened.

“We have a lot of citizens that attend our parade, and our main concern was that they were out in the open in the middle of the night, and in the same area that our latest shooting took place.”

Grant residents will be able to see the floats during the day on Saturday. But even some daylight isn’t convincing some residents.

“I’ll be staying home,” said Amy Brigdon. “There’s too many people in the world that want to see bad things happen to other people. I’m not one of them.”

Advertisement

Police still don’t have a suspect for this week’s attempted shooting. Anyone with information is asked to get in touch with the Grants Police Department.



Source link

Continue Reading

New Mexico

Colorado wolf rereleased in Grand County after crossing into New Mexico

Published

on

Colorado wolf rereleased in Grand County after crossing into New Mexico


Colorado Parks and Wildlife rereleased a wolf into Grand County this week after it had traveled into New Mexico, according to a news release.

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish captured gray wolf 2403 and returned the animal to Colorado.

Colorado wildlife officials decided to release the wolf in Grand County yesterday because of the proximity to “an unpaired female gray wolf,” nearby prey populations and distance from livestock, according to the release.

“Gray wolf 2403 has been returned to Colorado and released in a location where it can best contribute to CPW’s efforts to establish a self-sustaining wolf population while concurrently attempting to minimize potential wolf-related livestock conflicts,” said acting director of CPW Laura Clellan, according to the release.

Advertisement

The wolf was once a member of the Copper Creek pack but departed from it this fall.

A memorandum of understanding between Colorado and Arizona, New Mexico and Utah requires that any gray wolves that leave Colorado and enter those states be returned. That was created in part to maintain the integrity of a Mexican wolf recovery program.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

New Mexico

New Mexico man sentenced to nearly 20 years for distributing meth

Published

on

New Mexico man sentenced to nearly 20 years for distributing meth


ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A judge sentenced a New Mexico man to nearly 20 years in prison for distributing meth and having guns in his possession to use while doing so.

Court records indicate 43-year-old David Amaya sold meth from a trailer on his parents’ property in Anthony throughout July and August 2024. Agents executed a search warrant Aug. 22 and found 1.18 kilograms of meth, two firearms and ammunition in the trailer and a makeshift bathroom.

Amaya pleaded guilty to possession of meth with intent to distribute it. A judge sentenced him to 235 months in prison.

Once he is out, Amaya will face five years of supervised release.

Advertisement

The FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office and the Las Cruces Metro Narcotics Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Williams prosecuted it.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending