The Goose Fire has slightly decreased in size and still remains at 0 percent containment with close to 200 personnel working on the fire, the Albuquerque Zone Incident Management Team said in an update on Tuesday, July 22. The fire, burning about 18 miles northwest of Silver City, slightly decreased to 3,060 acres as more accurate perimeter data was obtained through infrared mapping, officials said. Light to moderate rainfall occurred over the area on Monday and additional precipitation was expected on Tuesday, the incident management team said.
Firefighters are extending hose lays in the northeast corner as they focus on strengthening the eastern control line for operations to remove unburned fuel between the fire’s active edge and containment lines, officials said. Helicopter support will assist efforts to slow the fire’s eastward spread while ground crews prepare and improve containment lines, officials said.
An update on the Turkeyfeather Fire was also released on Tuesday, with officials saying that the area received widespread rain over the weekend and into Monday and minimal fire behavior is expected. The Turkeyfeather Fire is at 24,128 acres and is now 25 percent contained, up from 23 percent. This fire is burning 22 miles south of Reserve, New Mexico. The Gila Las Cruces Type 3 Incident Management Team plants to turn the management of the fire back to the Gila National Forest on Wednesday, July 23. “Work will continue on the Turkeyfeather wildfire, but at a smaller scale,” officials said.
