Ute Park Fire spreading very rapidly in northeast New Mexico

Above: Map showing the location of the Ute Park Fire at 2:23 a.m. MDT June 1, 2018. Wildfire Today.

(UPDATED at 2:31 p.m. MDT June 1, 2018)

Fire officials report that the Ute Park fire, burning on private land on both sides of Highway 64 in Northeast New Mexico, has burned an estimated 16,500 acres.  The communities of Ute Park and the Village of Cimarron are under mandatory evacuation orders.

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(Originally published at 8:44 a.m. MDT June 1, 2018)

(UPDATED at 10:08 a.m. MDT June 1, 2018)

The Ute Park Fire in northeast New Mexico grew very quickly after it was reported at 2:10 p.m. MDT on Thursday 27 miles northeast of Taos. Now well established between Eagle Nest and Cimarron, it is burning on both sides of highway 64, which is closed.

The village of Cimarron (population about 900) and the area around Hummingbird Lane are under evacuation orders. There is a voluntary evacuation in place for Ute Park.

Our very unofficial estimate of the size, based on satellite data from 2:23 a.m. MDT June 1, is that at that time it had burned approximately 12,000 acres.

According to New Mexico Fire Information, approximately 12 unoccupied, non-residential structures at the Philmont Scout Ranch in the Cimarroncita area were destroyed.  Another 150 structures remain threatened.

About three hours after the first orders were placed for the fire Bea Day’s Type 1 Incident Management Team was requested. It is unusual for a Type 1 team to be ordered that soon after a fire starts, and is an indication of the rapid rate of spread and the potential of this fire. The team will in-brief at 3 p.m. on Friday.

Soon after it started two very large air tankers (VLAT) were dispatched. By the end of they day the additional aircraft orders included six large air tankers, four helicopters, and Colorado’s MultiMission Aircraft.

Northeast New Mexico is under a Red Flag Warning for Friday. The forecast for the fire area, which is at 7,000 to 8,000 feet, is about as bad as it can get — sustained 25 mph southwest winds gusting between 31 and 36, temperature in the low 80s, and 6 percent relative humidity.  These conditions could be very conducive to rapid fire growth to the northeast. Depending on the exact wind direction the fire could seriously threaten Cimarron. Under these conditions it is unlikely that firefighters will be able to do much more than anchor the heel of the fire and perhaps do some structure protection where property owners have already prepared defensible space by clearing away debris and other flammable materials, and are using fire-resistant materials for landscaping and construction.

(Photos of the fire are below)

The photo below was posted at 7:01 a.m. MDT on Friday.

#UteParkFire pic.twitter.com/akv0ww2xA3

— SkiDog (@Vinnie4life99) June 1, 2018

A large #wildfire ignited and spread rapidly in #NewMexico yesterday prompting evacuation orders. #GOESEast captured the smoke from the fires seen here in this 4 hour satellite imagery loop. #nmwx See more fire imagery: https://t.co/P1F11zXUHI pic.twitter.com/8C0O4aEWnD

— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) June 1, 2018

?#UteParkFire pic from https://t.co/FopS1brECQ

?4,500 acres
?Hwy 64 closed #NMFire #NMwx #NewMexico @NMFireInfo pic.twitter.com/5VoZUMTeO1

— Byron Morton KOAT (@ByronKOAT) June 1, 2018

The video below was recorded by Colorado’s MultiMission Aircraft on Thursday.

#UteParkFire Approx. 5000 acres. pic.twitter.com/CrhYQ01a6j

— Taos Interagency Dispatch Center (@TIDCNews) June 1, 2018