Cato 2 Fire

Chaves County, New Mexico · Wildfire

Active Official numbers updated Aug 16, 2026 (about 24 hours ago)
First reported 2 days ago
Metric Now
Size
2,080 acres
Aug 17, 2:00 PM
Containment
60%
Aug 17, 2:00 PM
Crew size
8
Aug 17, 2:00 PM
Money spent
$20,000
Aug 17, 2:00 PM

Cato 2 Fire and other nearby fires

🔥 Where this fire started Mostly contained Partly contained Containment not reported

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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 boxed in 60% of its edge; the other 40% isn't contained yet. It was first reported 2 days ago. About 8 people are on it, run by a Type 4 IC. We're also tracking 2 other active fires within about 75 miles.

Size
2,080 acres
Containment
60%
Discovered
August 15, 2026 (first reported 2 days ago)
Cause
Not reported

The size and containment above are current as of Monday, August 17th at 2:00 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 5 to 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 2:09 p.m. CDT.

Who's on it

About 8 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:

Nearby fires to Cato 2 Fire

Within about 75 miles we're tracking 2 other active fires, closest first:

See all active fires in New Mexico →

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