Big Hole Fire now 890 acres, 85% contained

BELEN, N.M. – Officials have confirmed that the Big Hole Fire is now at 890 acres. As of Tuesday, April 19, it is 85% contained – a big step up from a week before when it was 0% contained.

There are 24 people working to continue progress on this fire – far fewer than the 77 personnel at the fire Friday.

“We’ve had some really favorable wind conditions throughout the evening, and pushing out into this morning with a little pickup in the early afternoon, but it hasn’t been at the extremes that we saw yesterday. That combined with the cooling temperatures and the utilization of our type one heavy helo, really allowed the firefighters out there to get a good knockdown on this fire,” said Lt. Robert Arguelles, public information officer with the Bernalillo County Fire Department.

Officials say the threat to the community has been greatly reduced, so they are not planning to close any more roads or announce more evacuations. Structures are reportedly no longer threatened. However, one home and 18 outbuildings were lost in the fire.

Crews are still working to mop up hot spots and remove any trees that may pose a hazard to the public.

KOB 4 was also told that a 20-person hotshot crew from Arizona will now be heading to Ruidoso to help with the McBride Fire.