Blue Fire breaks out in Gila Wilderness

Las Cruces—The U.S. Forest Service reports that a 35-acre fire is burning on the western edge of the Gila Wilderness.

The Blue Fire is located south of the community of Willow Creek and is north of the Whitewater Baldy Trail #172. It is about 18 miles northeast of Glenwood.

The fire is burning in the Whitewater Baldy Complex fire scar. The Whitewater Baldy Complex fire burned 297,845 acres from in 2012 , and caused evacuations and closures.

The fire is also west of the Turkey Feather Fire that broke out in the Gila earlier this year.

The fire is in very steep and rugged terrain that is inaccessible to firefighters.

The Forest Service is sending an unmanned aircraft system for aerial reconnaissance. There is a density of snags in the area, making sending firefighters too dangerous. T