UPDATE: Ruidoso Fire 51% Contained

Location: Smokey Bear Ranger District, Lincoln NF, including White Mountain
Wilderness
Cause: Lightning
Fuels: Mixed conifer, ponderosa pine
Size: approx. 38,144 acres
Containment: 51 %
Resources Committed: Personnel:  1,425; crews: 12 Type 1, 23 Type 2;
engines: 85; helicopters: 6 Type 1, 3 Type 2, 2 Type 3; dozers: 13; water
tenders: 19
Today's Weather: 70-80 degrees, relative humidity 30-40%, wind SW 10-20 mph
gusting to 35 mph
Injuries: 3
Structures destroyed: 234 (224 residential structures and 10 outbuildings)

Road Closures: NM 532 (Ski Run Road) from NM 48 junction to Forest Road
127A is open to residents only
Area Closures: The entire White Mountain Wilderness, and tha(Document link:
Michelle Fidler)t portion of the Smokey Bear District south of US 380 to
the Mescalero Apache Reservation boundary including
a large area east and north of Ruidoso to the south boundary of the Fort
Stanton Recreation Area.

Summary:   Cool,  cloudy weather and higher humidity present the first real
chance  of  rain since the beginning of the Little Bear Fire.  Firefighters
will  remain  vigilant  for  flash  flooding  in canyons on the fire today.
Interior  islands of unburned fuel will smolder today, creating very little
smoke.   Crews  will be improving containment line on the west side. Patrol
and mop up continue around the remainder of the fire.

All  subdivisions  except Angus and Bonita Park are now open.  Ski Run Road
and  Bonita  Lake are open to residents only.  Residents returning to their
homes should be alert for fire vehicle traffic.

Meetings:  A  community  meeting will be conducted in the main gymnasium of
Ruidoso  High  School,  125  Warrior Road at 7:00 p.m.  A community meeting
will also be conducted at the fairgrounds in Capitan at 7:00 p.m.

Evacuations:  All campgrounds west of Bonito Lake; Angus and Bonita Park.

Shelters:   Ruidoso  High  School  at 125 Warrior Road, and Trinity Baptist
Church  in Capitan.  Pets and livestock may be taken to  Pet Paradise in La
Luz  (575-434-1784),  Otero County fairgrounds in Alamogordo (575-434-0788,
575-491-7553,  or  575-491-4643),  Lincoln  County  fairgrounds  in Capitan
(575-808-2814),  Humane  Society of Lincoln County in Ruidoso (575-257-9841
or  575-378-1039),  Ruidoso  Animal Clinic (575-257-4027), Dunagan Farms in
Ruidoso   (575-257-9549  or  575-621-4056),   New  Mexico  Livestock  Board
(575-649-2758), Carrizozo Animal Shelter (575-648-2351), Thundering Paws in
Alto (575-336-7297), and Yolanda and Robert Espinoza (575-354-9019).

Many  residents of the community have expressed interest in making monetary
                        donations to the firefighting organizations.  Local
                        fire   departments   should  be  considered  first.
                        Additionally, the following
websites  provide  avenues for making donations:  www.wffoundation.org, and
                        www.redcrossnewmexico.org.

Information on wildland fire smoke and your health can be found on the New
Mexico Department of Health's website at:
https://nmtracking.unm.edu/eh_alerts/, or call the New Mexico statewide
health line at (877)304-4161. Additional websites for accurate fire
information are Facebook.com/LittleBearFireNM, Twitter.com/T1SWIMT,
Flickr.com.photos.lincolnnationalforest (maps), and
Flickr.com/photos/wildland-fires-2012/ (photos).

(See attached file: Little Bear Fire news release 6_16 am.pdf)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Little Bear Fire Information
Inciweb.org/incident/2903/
NMFireInfo.com
Facebook.com/LittleBearFireNM
Twitter.com/T1SWIMT
Flickr.com.photos.lincolnnationalforest (maps)
Flickr.com/photos/wildland-fires-2012/ (photos)

Little Bear Fire Info Call Center – 575-258-6900 (24 hr / 7 days a week)
Media Duty Officer - 505-235-4213 (6a – midnight)
Health Related Questions About Smoke – 1-877-304-4161 (24 hr / 7 days a
week)
Mental Health Support for Wildfire Victims – 866-342-6892 (24 hr / 7 days a
week)
Property Owners Information Line - 575-258-INFO(4636)