Fire, winds force closure of trails in Dog Canyon, Guadalupe Mountains National Park

Fire crews continued to arrive at the area near the Dog Canyon Fire on Friday morning, burning in grass and pinon/juniper on the west end of the Guadalupe Mountains in southern New Mexico. The fire is burning on private land and on land managed by the National Park Service. Incident command reported that the fire is approximately 5 miles long, but did not have an acreage, according to Dan Ware, public relations coordinator/fire information officer for New Mexico State Forestry. The fire is burning in very steep, rugged terrain, which will pose a challenge to fire crews regarding accessibility. At press time, crews were providing structure protection for the Dog Canyon Work Center, operated by the National Park Service. Units from the USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service and area volunteer departments are responding. Type II fire crews have been ordered as well, Ware announced in a press release. According to the Nation Park Service on Friday afternoon, all trails in Guadalupe Mountains National Park were closed...more