Firefighters continue to strengthen their hand against the largest wildfire in New Mexico history. They now report the fire is now 51% contained. The acreage burned stands at 280,075, the equivalent of 437.6 square miles. The fulcrum of the battle now is protecting the Bear Wallow fire lookout on the north edge of the fire. Brush fires continue to run on the southern edge. The latest map of the fire shows little significant growth in any direction, with the exception of runs on the southern edges. The blog

set up with the support of the Catron County Commission to cover this disaster has reported that public updates, other than release of infrared fly-over maps, have ceased now that the National Incident Management Organization has taken over management of the fire. The county’s fire blog has provided timely and detailed information throughout the fire, but is now cutting back on postings since the flow of public information is being curtailed.