5-24-2024 9:44am

Blue 2 Fire Bear Bonito Lake Road Evacuations Ordered

Chris Edwards Editor

The Blue 2 Fire in White Mountain Wilderness, Lincoln National Forest, Lincoln County, NM, has affected 1,477.54 acres and remains active. Evacuation orders (Level 3) are in place for Bonito Lake Rd and Forest Service Roads 108 and 107. Evacuation warnings (Level 2) include Villa Madonna, Sierra Vista, and Sun Valley Subdivisions. Evacuation advisories (Level 1) are for the Angus Area. An evacuation reception center is set up at Lincoln County Fairgrounds.

Animal Shelter Information:

Anyone needing to evacuate who cannot take their pets can bring them to:

Humane Society of Lincoln County
- Address: 25962 US Hwy 70, Ruidoso, NM 88345
- Phone ‪(575) 257-9841‬
Large Animals: Accepted at the fairgrounds in Capitan

Contact Information: For more updates and information, visit the Lincoln County Fire Service on Facebook or the Humane Society of Lincoln County's Facebook page: Humane Society of Lincoln County Facebook.

Blue 2 Fire in Lincoln County, New Mexico has grown to more than 1,400 acres Friday morning, May 24, according to watchduty.org.

The Blue 2 Fire is currently at 1,477 acres with zero containment as of 7 a.m. Friday. Evacuation orders for Bonito Lake Road, Forest Service Road 108, and Forest Service Road 107 are now in effect now.

Update: Yesterday's Red Flag conditions created increased smoke and fire activity from the Blue 2 Fire that is currently burning in the White Mountain Wilderness area. The fire size is currently estimated at 1,478 acres, but a heavy smoke layer makes an accurate estimate difficult. Crews remained on the fire throughout the night last night. The fire continues to burn dead and down trees and standing dead trees (snags) that were left after the Little Bear fire in 2012.

Today's operations consist of air and ground operations. Expect to see aircraft as weather permits. Ground Operations are shifting to operating day & night. A Complex Incident Management Team was ordered last night at midnight and is currently enroute.

As was dictated last night by fire behavior, Lincoln County activated an Emergency Contact Center: (575) 336-8600 and there is currently an emergency shelter, and animal emergency shelter in ace.

Lincoln County Fire Service advises citizens to sign up for CodeRed (see link below) even if you are not impacted by this fire, it is an important resource for local residents.

Current Evacuations issued by the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office are under effect for Bonito Lake Rd, Forest Service Road 108, and Forest Service Road 107. At this time, the Angus Area, Villa Madonna, Sierra Vista & Sun Valley subdivisions on the west side of Hwy48 should also be ready for evacuations. Operations Emergency Services has established an evacuation reception center at the Capitan Fairgrounds.

Please keep 911 open and available for emergencies.

There will be a public meeting Friday (May 24, 2024) evening at 7:00 pm. The meeting will be held at the Eastern New Mexico University-Ruidoso Branch Community College 709 Mechem Drive, Ruidoso NM.

Stay tuned to KALHRadio.org or AlamogordoTownNews.org for further updates.