Just when we think 2020 has given us more than we’d care to be handling, we now have an un-contained and growing wildfire to our southwest in the Carson National Forest threatening ours and neighboring communities. The Luna fire, as it has been named, has increased in size and has grown towards both the north and west exhibiting active to extreme fire behavior. The US Forest Service has set “trigger” points (geographic decision points) for the evacuation of Black Lake & the Village of Angel Fire to include Hidden Lake and other communities south of Hwy 64. There is NO immediate threat, but conditions may change rapidly in the next 48-72 hours.
When: October 20, 2020 at 12:00 pm
Where: Black Parking Lot on North Angel Fire Road
There is an outdoor Town Hall meeting tomorrow, October 20, at noon, in the Black Parking lot on North Angel Fire Road. We ask that everyone, in the above listed areas, to attend. Share this message with anyone who is in town to include our visitors. Please wear a mask and socially distance. The Village will be making an Emergency Declaration in the morning in accordance with State Statutes and FEMA procedures and guidance. There will also be Village officials available to answer your questions.
Due to information given us in a briefing meeting late this afternoon, we have implemented what is called the “Ready, Set, Go!” Plan. Property owners and residents in areas of Black Lake, Hidden Lake and Angel Fire are highly encouraged to take the steps in this plan immediately, focusing on completing yours and your families’ preparedness under the “Ready” checklist and getting “Set” as the fire appears to be approaching. We will have the “Ready, Set, Go!” Plan posted on the Village website and am sharing it across other social media pages. We ask that you begin preparing immediately. We are asking if you or any family member or friend has any form of a compromised respiratory affliction, that you consider evacuation at the earliest time frame, as the air quality is expected to greatly worsen in the coming days.
Tonight we are asking that anyone, visitor, vacationer, etc. who is not a resident of these areas listed above, to please voluntarily evacuate beginning as early as tomorrow. Additionally, if you have another residence to go to, please do that as well. We are also asking that all vacation and other short-term rentals be canceled and reservations be suspended for the next two weeks. Depending on the fire situation, we will re-evaluate in the coming days. The fewer people having to care for and potentially emergency evacuate in the area, the better. We ask that all businesses cancel clients coming into the area for short-term business trips. This is a precautionary measure, so if we are told to evacuate quickly, it will help control any chaos and movement plans. It will also help the authorities to know what homes are occupied at the time of evacuation. We are also suggesting that all non-essential businesses close and go home to prepare in accordance with the “Ready, Set, Go!” Plan.
This information is not to create panic, but to let you know the fire incident team is being pro-active in their approach, taking an abundance of caution. While there are no evacuation orders at this time for our community, we do ask that those able to evacuate begin to do so in order to reduce the threatened population density in the area. Our number one concern is to protect lives.
There will be updates, as soon as we get them. We want everyone to know what is happening in a very timely manner.
Thank you very much, please attend the Town Hall tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Jo Mixon
Mayor/Village of Angel Fire
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