Fire Fighters and other personnel have been working since May 11th to contain the Signal Fire burning 10 miles north of Silver City.
Punky Moore, Public Affairs Officer of the Gila National Forest explains that the 5,484-acre fire still has a way to go to be completely contained.
“Initially we get a fire line around the perimeter of the fire, but that doesn’t mean that those fire lines are wide enough and secure enough yet to really report that the fire is contained to the point that we are confident that the fire will not get outside those fire lines,” says Moore
569 Personnel from different agencies are working together to contain the fire amid dry and windy weather conditions that have prompted Red Flag Warnings in recent days.
“The conditions are not favorable, but a lot of work has been done and hopefully all the fire lines will continue to hold and we will increase containment tonight,” says Moore.
Moore says that because of the fire, there are currently recreation sites, roads and trail closures underway and holiday travelers heading to the area this weekend should visit the Gila National Forest Website to get updated information on closures and warnings.
For fire updates and forest closure information: