BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com

The Cerro Pelado Fire is at 42,491 acres as of Tuesday morning and remains at 11 percent containment. Tuesday is yet another red flag day for the fire with sustained winds of 15-20 mph expected, with gusts of up to 40 mph on the mesa tops and ridge lines, according to Mary Cernicek, PIO for the Great Basin #1 Incident Command team.

Good news from the team is that they were able to run aircraft until around 2 p.m. Monday when the wind kicked in. Winds calmed down overnight so the fire lay down. Winds today are expected to be out of the south and crews will work along Hwy 4 to try to hold the fire line.

Aircraft will be out early today and focus will be on Road 287 to Road 289 where there is a lot of heat and the fire wants to push north and east.

Check the Los Alamos Reporter for various official updates on the fire throughout the day as well as a detailed report on last night’s community briefing at Griffith Gym. Tuesday’s community briefing will be at Cochiti and will not be streamed live but will be posted on the Cerro Pelado Fire Information Facebook page.