Cato 2 Fire

Chaves County, New Mexico · Wildfire

No longer active Official numbers updated Aug 17, 2026 (21 days ago)

First reported about 3 weeks ago

Metric	Last report	Now	Change
Size	—	2,080 acres Sep 7, 11:00 PM	—
Containment	60% Aug 17, 3:01 PM	100% Sep 7, 11:00 PM +40 percent was 60% · Aug 17, 3:01 PM	+40 percent in 21 days
Crew size	8 Aug 17, 3:01 PM	6 Sep 7, 11:00 PM −2 was 8 · Aug 17, 3:01 PM	−2 in 21 days
Money spent	—	$20,000 Sep 7, 11:00 PM	—

Cato 2 Fire summary

The Cato 2 Fire is a wildfire near Chaves County, New Mexico. It has burned about 2,080 acres (about 2,000 football fields). Crews have it fully contained, with a line all the way around it. It was first reported about 3 weeks ago. About 6 people are on it, run by a Type 4 IC.

Size: 2,080 acres
Containment: 100%
Discovered: August 15, 2026 (first reported about 3 weeks ago)
Cause: Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Monday, August 17th at 5:01 p.m. CDT.

Weather & fire-spread conditions

No Red Flag Warning. The National Weather Service hasn't flagged this area for dangerous fire-spread conditions right now.

Hot, dry, and windy weather can help a fire grow; cool, calm, or wet weather helps crews. The tags below rate each day for fire spread — green is calm, red can push a fire.

A general fire-weather guide (wind matters most, then how dry it is, then heat), not a prediction of what this fire will do.

This Afternoon

95°F · Sunny

Wind 10 mph SE · 1% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Hot Dry

Tonight

69°F · Clear

Wind 5 to 10 mph S · 3% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry

Tuesday

97°F · Sunny

Wind 10 mph S · 0% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Hot Dry

Tuesday Night

70°F · Mostly Clear

Wind 10 to 15 mph S · 2% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Cool Dry

Wednesday

100°F · Sunny

Wind 5 to 10 mph S · 1% chance of rain

Wind: Breezy Heat: Very hot Dry

Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Monday, August 17th at 5:08 p.m. CDT.

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Who's on it

About 6 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Type 4 IC. About $20,000 has been spent on it so far.

The official feed reports the total headcount, not a breakdown by crew type.

Where to get live updates

We show the daily official picture. For minute-by-minute updates, evacuation orders, and maps, these do it best:

→ Watch Duty: real-time fire reporting and evacuations.
→ InciWeb: the government's official fire information site.

Nearby fires to Cato 2 Fire

No other active fires are near this one right now. It's on its own.

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