The “Powerline Fire” that burned almost 1,800 acres in Big Bend National Park last week was fully contained on Friday (February 5).
That fire was sparked from a downed powerline last Monday with heavy winds and dry conditions across the region.
The park said in a Facebook post that smoke from the fire was barely visible late Friday, that it wanted to "enthusiastically" thank all the people involved in bringing the fire under control.
That included crews from the Terlingua Volunteer Fire Department, from BLM and National Park Service offices in New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness region, from Carlsbad and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks and more.
The park said a total of 91 people helped fight the fire, including 14 people from “Los Diablos”, the elite firefighting crew from just across the border in Mexico. A helicopter was on hand dumping water on the flames Thursday, and by Friday morning, firefighters had developed a strong perimeter around the fire and stopped it from spreading.
No structures or people were threatened throughout the time the fire was burning. All park roads and the two backcountry campsites that were closed late last week are now back open.
