Andrew Nordquist – Incident Commander
Acres: 11,634
Start Date: 6/25/2025
Completion: 87 %
Location: Located in the Coyote Ranger District, 8 miles north of New Mexico State Road 96 and west of the Chama River Canyon Wilderness.
Personnel: 158
Fuels: Oak brush, ponderosa pine, pinyon-juniper
Resources: 3 hotshot crews, 1 Type 2 Initial Attack crew, 2 suppression modules, 5 engines, 3 water tenders (2 support; 1 tactical).
Highlights: Fire crews conducted mop-up operations while interior pockets of vegetation continued to burn. Mop-up involves extinguishing or removing burning material along or near the control line, felling snags, or moving logs so they won't roll downhill.
This evening, a spot fire was discovered outside the containment lines near Laguna Peak. Fire crews are actively engaged in full suppression efforts using hotshot crews, engines, and helicopters to drop water.
Smoke: Light winds today were slow to clear smoke, resulting in hazy conditions and MODERATE air quality across northern New Mexico. Smoke from the fire traveled east this afternoon with impacts in communities along the Rio Chama including Abiquiu and the Espanola Valley briefly reaching UNHEALTHY FOR SENITIVE GROUPS levels. Tonight, a weak front pushes in from the east and winds will pick up overnight bringing in moist air from the east. This moisture will help thunderstorms over the weekend that will help to improve air quality, but hazy conditions will persist. Tonight, the greatest impacts will be in communities along the Rio Chama near the fire. However, smoke from fires in Arizona and Colorado may also be adding smoke into New Mexico. Overall, air quality is expected to stay in the GOOD to MODERATE levels this weekend with hazy skies.
Weather: Winds from the west and northwest this evening will taper off after sunset, leading to light winds overnight. Smoke will likely drain south into the upper Rio Grande Valley reaching as far south as Santa Fe.
Tomorrow, expect another very warm to hot day with dry westerly breezes developing during the afternoon hours. This will help to transport the smoke plume east over the upper Rio Grande Valley and northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Winds will lighten after sunset switching to east-southeast overnight. These southeast winds will increase surface moisture at the fire location resulting in scattered shower and storm development during the afternoon and evening hours both days this weekend.
Safety: The health and safety of firefighters and the public are always the highest priority. Please avoid the area while crews manage the Laguna Wildfire. Drones and firefighting aircraft are a dangerous mix and could lead to accidents or slow down wildfire operations. If you fly, we can’t.
Closures: : Closure Order 03-10-01-25-09 is in place and includes all National Forest System lands, roads, and trails within Township 24N Range 1E Sections 1,2,11,12,13,14,23,24,25,26 and Township 24N Range 2E Sections 4-9 and Sections14-32 and Township 25N Range 1E Sections 25,35,36 and Township 25N Range 2E Sections 30-32 of the New Mexico Principal Meridian within the Coyote Ranger District. The purpose of this Order is to protect the public’s health and safety during firefighting operations for the Laguna Wildfire. See attached map for the closure area.
More Information: 505-607-0879 | [email protected]| x.com/SantafeNF | facebook.com/santafeNF | Inciweb-Laguna Wildfire | NM Fire Info
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