NPS Photo/Tom Alex During the afternoon of March 8th, 2006, at 3:45 PM high winds caused an electric power poll to break which upon striking the vegetation below ignited a wildfire. The fire began on a northern slope of the Chisos Basin nearby to the Campground and was pushed further north by high winds. As a precaution, the Chisos Basin campground was evacuated the afternoon of March 8th. Road access to the Chisos Basin was also closed, and the backcountry campsites in the High Chisos were evacuated. Fire fighting resources from within the park and the local area were mobilized to help with the fire on March 8th with additional resources ordered from outside the local area including a Type 3 Incident Management Team, a Hotshot Crew, a Type 6 Engine Strike Team, two helicopters and a Type II hand crew. The fire was largely out by the morning of March 9th, and clean-up continued for an additional day. Quick action by both park staff and local resources helped prevent a much larger fire. Total acreage, 38.2 acres. |
Last updated: February 24, 2015