Quay County, New Mexico · Wildfire
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The Sparks Fire is a wildfire near Quay County, New Mexico. It has burned about 6,000 acres (about 5,000 football fields). Crews have it fully contained, with a line all the way around it. It was first reported about 3 months ago. About 33 people are on it, run by a Type 4 IC. We're also tracking 6 other active fires within about 75 miles.
The size and containment above are current as of Wednesday, July 22nd at 10:00 a.m. CDT.
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.
Today
93°F · Sunny
Wind 5 to 15 mph SW · 3% chance of rain
Tonight
68°F · Mostly Clear
Wind 5 to 15 mph S · 3% chance of rain
Thursday
95°F · Sunny
Wind 10 to 15 mph SW · 1% chance of rain
Thursday Night
69°F · Partly Cloudy
Wind 10 to 15 mph SW · 3% chance of rain
Friday
96°F · Mostly Sunny then Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
Wind 10 mph SW · 37% chance of rain
Forecast from the National Weather Service (weather.gov), pulled Wednesday, July 22nd at 10:03 a.m. CDT.
About 33 people are assigned to this fire, run by a Type 4 IC. The government rates it a Type 3 Incident. About $200,000 has been spent on it so far.
The official feed reports the total headcount, not a breakdown by crew type.
We show the daily official picture. For minute-by-minute updates, evacuation orders, and maps, these do it best:
Within about 75 miles we're tracking 6 other active fires, closest first:
Fighting fire is a job you can get
Wildland firefighting is an entry-level job. You start with no experience and no college degree, and one season pays more than most summer internships.
Most crews hire in fall and winter for the next summer, when more jobs open up.
New Mexico has 2 of these jobs open right now.
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