Buck Fire near Silver City reaches 71% containment

By KOB

SILVER CITY, N.M. — Crews made significant progress Thursday on the containment of the Buck Fire in the Gila National Forest near Silver City.

The Buck Fire is now 71% contained as of Friday, up from 39% Thursday and 25% Monday. The fire hasn’t grown beyond the Thursday estimate of 57,753 acres. They have 290 people working the fire Friday, down from 336 the day before. Those 46 people are going to work on the nearby Trout Fire.

MORE: Trout Fire and Buck Fire have now burned over 100k acres near Silver City

“The dedicated efforts of all firefighting resources have demonstrated resilience in hot, dry, and remote conditions. Through strong teamwork and logistical coordination, we’ve been able to support operations effectively, leading to continued progress toward containment,” said Lino Baca, the incident commander.

Firefighters successfully halted the forward movement of the fire Thursday. Hotshot crews are continuing to focus on the northern perimeter where the most heat remains Friday. They are working to secure the edge and advance containment efforts. They have most of their resources assigned to the handline between Batton Tank and the Continental Divide Trail on the western flank. They are conducting patrol and mop-up operations.

On the southern end, heat is minimal. However, engines are mopping up interior hotspots and patrol along Forest Road 163 to ensure no flare-ups occur.

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