Feds, N.M. investigators say lightning caused South Fork Fire; Salt Fire still under investigation

The South Fork Fire burns in Ruidoso, N.M., on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Photo by Chancey Bush / Albuquerque Journal) PHOTO CANNOT BE REPUBLISHED

Lightning started one of the two fires that burned thousands of homes, killed two people and left a burn scar ripe for flood damage across a southeastern New Mexico mountain community.

State and federal investigators released their findings Wednesday that determined “human activity and factors did not contribute to the cause,” of the South Fork Fire.

That’s in a statement the Bureau of Indian Affairs released through its Forestry & Wildland Fire Mescalero Agency, where the South Fork and Salt fires started.

The cause for the Salt Fire remains under investigation.The FBI is still offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of, “the person or persons responsible for starting the Salt Fire.” The fire is more than 80 percent contained and has burned 7,939 acres. It is unclear when investigators will release what caused this fire.

The South Fork fire started on June 17. It has burned 17,569 acres and is 87 percent contained, according to the July 3 update from fire crews.

The Mescalero Tribe joined investigators from the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service, FBI and New Mexico State Police to determine the cause.

Public records and lightning data shed new light on Salt and South Fork fire origins

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