LIttle Bear Fire shows signs of slowing

RUIDOSO, N.M. (KRQE) - After consuming 224 homes and disrupting thousands of lives, the Little Bear Fire near Ruidoso has slowed to a crawl.

Firefighters appear to have a handle on the 38,000-acre blaze although significant flames continue to erupt inside, and in some places along, the perimeter.

Containment of the blaze now sits at 45 percent, and the majority of the evacuees who still have a home are being let back into them.

Updated list of closed areas, roads, community meetings and information sources.

A week ago the lightning-caused fire was burning quietly north of Ruidoso in the Lincoln National Forest.

But high winds turned that small, contained fire into a roiling monster.

"There are real large fire embers that are hitting Highway 48," one emergency dispatcher said in a radio call released Wednesday.

From Friday morning when winds turned fierce to Sunday night the blaze grew by more than 34,000 acres devouring neighborhoods and forcing hundreds and hundreds of people to flee.

Since then more than 1.400 firefighters and a fleet of aircraft have kept the Little Bear Fire in check.

This week fire crews built lines and conducted burn outs on the fire's south flank, only a few miles north of the edge of Ruidoso.

Those efforts have paid off.

"The growth again has been mostly on the northwestern section of the fire where you see it pushing here," Dave Shell of the incident management team said motioning to a map. "The rest of the line is holding very well.

"We're not seeing any fire activity or smokes at all in this area, and we have been patrolling it looking to a great extent."

Now a main highway once surrounded by fire has opened up again, and evacuations are being lifted bit by bit.

But more than 200 families don't have a home to go back to.

"This is the first time we've seen it with our own eyes, and nothing is there," Marcos Sanchez told KRQE News 13.

The Sanchezes and hundreds more will still be grappling with that reality while the fire that took their homes from them burns itself out.

So far the cost to fight this fire stands at $7.5 million dollars and still counting.

As far as an estimate on the cost of property lost, fire officials don't know yet although it's obviously in the millions of dollars, too.

Late Thursday the fire management team released this update on the day's activities:

"Weather conditions combined with very low fuel moisture created very active fire behavior today. Slope driven runs and group tree torching were observed in interior islands of previously unburned fuel.

"Indirect line construction continued on the north and west flanks, with support from helicopter water drops. Line improvement will continue tomorrow on the west side in preparation for a burnout operation as soon as conditions permit.

"On the north side of the fire, direct and indirect line construction was completed.

"On the northeastern flank, a burnout is in progress along Grapevine Canyon, and will be finished this evening. Patrol and mop up will continue on the east and southeastern perimeters."

Officials in Ruidoso Downs just down the canyon from Ruidoso want to clamp down on outdoor burning.

According to the Ruidoso News, the town council meeting on Friday will decide whether to enact Level 2 fire restrictions. That would mean no charcoal or wood burning; gas grills would still be allowed.

Also, smoking outside would be banned on both public and private property.