Multiple fires near Zuni burn amid heat, dry lightning conditions

Four new fires flared near Zuni on June 29 and June 30 as heat and dry lightning kept McKinley County on edge, with one incident listed as human-caused and others tied to thunderstorms or lightning. The Spring Wash Fire, War God Fire, Lomsico Fire and Laton Road Fire burned in and around the Zuni Mountains, and officials were tracking coordinates, hot spots and response as incident maps updated in near real time.

The clearest control came at the Foster Fire, June 25 in the Zuni Mountains, listed at 1 acre and 100% contained. Nearby, the Rivera Canyon Fire on June 27 at 5:57 p.m. in the southeast Zuni Mountains burned 4 acres and was listed as lightning-caused, with firefighters using hand tools and water from two wildland fire engines for direct extinguishment and mop-up.

The newer cluster included the Spring Wash Fire, discovered June 29 at 7:40 p.m. in one fire database and 8:40 p.m. in another, and at least one listing labeled it human-caused. War God Fire, Lomsico Fire and Laton Road Fire also burned near Zuni during the same period, and some of the new starts remained active while others were contained quickly.

Late-June fires in and around the Zuni Mountains may have come from scattered thunderstorms, and crews continued suppression and mop-up on multiple lightning strike fires in the Mt. Taylor and Mountainair ranger districts. By the time the Zuni-area ignitions were being tallied, the National Wildland Fire Preparedness Level had already been raised to PL 4 at 7:30 a.m. Mountain Time on June 29.

The Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands warned the public to avoid the fire areas, and drones can interfere with firefighting operations. In Zuni Pueblo, a February 2025 brush fire prompted mandatory evacuations north of Route 301 South and in the Water Department area before the fire was contained at 20 acres, with hot spots still being dealt with.