Well there ya go.

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Ute Park evacuated due to increase fire activity south of the community, crews prepare for storms Sunday
Acres: estimated 30,000 acres
Percent Containment: 0%
Start Date: May 31, 2018, 2:10pm
Cause: Unknown, under investigation
Jurisdiction: NM State
Fuels: Grass, Pinyon Juniper, and Mixed Conifer
Origin Location: Near Highway 64 in Ute Park, NM, between Eagle Nest Lake and Cimarron
Resources: 511 personnel including 10 crews, 6 helicopters, 32 engines, 8 dozers, 7 water tenders
An Increase in fire activity and growth on the west side of the fire prompted the Colfax Emergency Manager and Colfax Sheriff's Office to issue a mandatory evacuation for Ute Park this evening. Afternoon winds from the southeast caused the fire to grow to the west, south of Ute Park. Winds are forecasted to come from the south this evening which would threaten to align the fire to advance into Ute Park. Firefighters will be in the community overnight providing point protection around structures and conducting burnout operations to protect the community.
Today the winds shifted in the afternoon and came out of the southeast which slowed the fire growth on the east side of the fire. Crews were able to continue to conduct burnout operations along the east and southeast side of the fire. The lines held well today and this evening crews will continue to strengthen the lines by extinguishing hot spots along its edge and patrolling the line.
There are increasing chances of showers and thunderstorms Sunday and Sunday night. Forecasts are calling for a severe storm with large hail, high winds, heavy rain, and lightning Sunday starting at noon into Sunday evening. Flash flooding is a concern. While the increase in moisture has the potential to decrease the fire activity, outflow winds associated with thunderstorms can overcome the moisture with increased winds around the fire. Lightning also increases the risk of new fires.
Structures damage assessments completed. Fourteen outbuildings have burned on the Philmont Scout Ranch. Approximately 296 structures are threatened in the community of Cimarron, which remains under a mandatory evacuation order. Philmont Scout Ranch staff have also evacuated to the Colfax Fairgrounds in Springer, NM. There are no scouts currently at the camp. Sign Up for Colfax County's Emergency Alerts at https://bit.ly/2LbNdXh.

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This mess just refuses to improve and looks like it will impact some treks. If the fire is growing west that puts Clarks Fork, Shaefers Pass, and maybe Black Mountain etc in harms way. I hope they were able to save the Hunting Lodge.

Angel Fire forecast is for winds shifting to the south and then southwest this afternoon, with 100% chance of thunderstorms. Humidity is pretty high right now. Winds predicted to be out of the west starting tomorrow. No idea of wind predictions on the plains (i. e. Cimarron).

Philmont Webcam



Ursus- any new scuttlebutt on what Ranch leadership are thinking about the early season?

Just heard from my friend Doc Thompson who lives in Ute Park. He evacuated to Angel Fire last night. He said he doubts many of the cabins or structures in Ute Park survived the night.

I was wondering about his location

I echo this sentiment as well. I know the philmont folks are going through more than I can imagine, early crews still need a little guidance here.

Ok, from the Sunday morning update.

The fire is now an estimated 31,930 acres with 0% containment. Last night was bad, not going to sugarcoat it (that is my own edition). The the total fire is still smaller than the '02 fire, it has burned more acres on Philmont itself. Staff is continuing to train for the summer in their makeshift Base Camp in Springer. No decisions have been made yet on what is happening this summer...so stay tuned. (Philmont is huge, so there is still plenty to play with, this juat happens to be dead center).

Now me---the rain today is a mixed blessing. The humidity is great to have, but the winds are squirrelly as hell. Like others on this thread, my connections to Ute Park are out as of last night. I am still trying to find out the status of my old supervisor. The rain may help slow things down, but in many ways this is some of the roughest country on the ranch. Some of the really seasoned firefighters are saying they have never seen a fire with this sort of "attitude". There are some areas of the ranch that I have reached the point that if we've gone this far, I would prefer they just let burn (below Cyphers) as they have scared me for 20 plus years.

Tent city is still kicking

You likely saw it, but PSA had up videos of the various work groups breaking out and continuing their training their in Springer.

ursusguy said:

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Staff is packing up and headed back to Base

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Oustanding!

Neat article about the Type 1 IC coordinating the fire protection aspect. Right now they have just over 500 firefighting personnel, and multiple air assets.

http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/forest_management_wildfires/she-s-commanding-in-army---confronting-the-monster/article_3ef416dc-36d8-517b-b33a-2c2714eb040f.html

All I know is I'm assuming those are Philmont's tents and they are way nicer than they used to be lol

https://instagr.am/p/BjiFRlXh3t4

Yes they are.

God I used to hate having to pull those water buffalos.

I am fairly certain they are MSR now. A slightly beefed-up version of one of their normal tents. I think you can buy them from Philmont now

ursusguy said:

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Philmont has reported that structures at Cito, Clarks, and Hunting Lodge are still there.

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Has the fire moved past those areas and spared them? Or just not gotten there yet?

ursusguy said:

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Philmont has reported that structures at Cito, Clarks, and Hunting Lodge are still there.

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ursusguy said:

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In '02, I had a CD kick me and my partner out of their camp for doing our bear related camp inspections (I found a bunch of food laying around during the campfire....so relatively late). Ran into Unit 2 in the radioroom and told him about it. Unit 2 radioed D. Palmer and told him to meet him at the BC Warehouse. They radioed the CD at 10:30 PM and told him to be waiting for them. Three days later I ended up setting a trap and catching a bear in his camp. To say he was apologetic is an understatement.

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04 while doing Rayado, my partner and I walked through some camps while wanting for our Rowdies to go to sleep so we could enter their camp. We came across one crew that had a bear bag full of smellable water bottles under the cable, not hung. We woke up the crew and their excuse was that it was too heavy to hang. They managed to find enough strength to pull it up when their sleep at 1030 at night was on the line.

Pro Sandy said:

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Springer to Base is a hell of a hike in, but I never liked bussing in on my hike in day.

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That was my rule as well. Unless it was basically impossible, I hiked in.

http://www.philmontscoutranch.org/About/FireInformation.aspx

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Nearby TownsPhilNewsFire InformationJoin Our NewsletterPhilmont Webcam

Philmont Scout Ranch > About > Fire Information

Fire Information

Ute Park Fire Update: June 3, 2018 at 9:30 a.m.

Fire Update: The Ute Park Fire is currently at estimated 31,000 acres and 0% containment. There are 511 personnel on scene fighting this fire including our Philmont Fire Department, other local Fire Departments, neighbors, and State and Federal agencies.
We can report that the structures at Ponil, Hunting Lodge, Cimarroncito, and Clarks Fork have survived the fire that passed through those areas.
We have gotten official word that base camp is safe and staff will be returning back to base this morning.

Program and Unit information - as we assess the situation we will be working with our leadership and local authorities to determine the extent of program we can deliver and when. Please stand by for an update on this by Monday morning.

Our primary focus remains the safety of our team and the management of the fire. We appreciate your patience as we work through this rapidly changing situation.

From today on we will be posting updates each day prior to noon at PhilmontScoutRanch.org and scouting newsroom. We will post photos periodically on the Philmont Facebook. Please look at these sites for information from us.

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That is the kind of story I liked to hear.

On several occasions I actually caught bears going through goodies in campsite during inspections. In fact the very first day we had campers in the backcountry, we found a large bear with his head stuck in a peach can at Ponil. Good times.

Ddp

To Clinte234: Thank you for update. I grew up in Ute Park. Our family home is just east of post office/ town. If you know Matzen's Pottery right on hwy 64, we're on that turn off just south of the road; our house is on the river about 200 yds from the rd. Hwy 64 closed now- can't get many updates on status of homes. Please share if/when your folks return. Grateful they and their animals are safe.

I know exactly where your house is! I'll be sure to post any other info I get.

I grew up in U.P. Our home is right off of 64 and tagged on gps maps as confirmed fire corridor. If you get confirmation- can you kindly update? We can't get official news as I'm sure most can't. Tough couple of days.

Man I was depressed when I saw this thread yesterday. So glad to see the good news today. Scouts will prevail!

Guy making that call is a long time friend of mine. We worked together on the fire rehab team.