Sean McNearney said the beans fire doubled to 1,000 acres on Saturday after someone flew a drone over the blaze and forced firefighting helicopters out of the air for part of the day. The fire, sparked by lightning on Tuesday, was still uncontained as it expanded through steep terrain near the Rio Frijoles.
By Saturday evening, the Frijoles Fire had grown from 500 acres in the morning to 1,000 acres, while Cundiyó and Cerro Piñon were placed in ready status. The Forest Service also asked the public to avoid the area of the fire and the Santa Cruz Overlook Road and Campground.
Rio Frijoles and N.M. 503
The blaze was burning about 3 miles southeast of Cundiyó and 5 miles west of Sierra Mosca, with N.M. 503 closed from its northern end west of Cordova to its intersection with County Road 98. Crews were working in terrain that limited access and slowed ground movement, which left aircraft and hand crews as the main tools on the fire line.
Large air tankers and three helicopters were dropping water and retardant on Saturday morning, while 68 fire personnel were assigned to the blaze. By Saturday evening, that number had risen to 86, showing the response was still being reinforced even as the fire kept spreading.
Frijoles Canyon lines
Bulldozers were building indirect containment lines north of Frijoles Canyon, and Hotshots were working west of the fire and south of the Rio Frijoles. Those positions placed crews around the fire rather than directly on its edge, a method used when terrain makes direct attack harder to hold.
The drone changed that picture for part of the day. With helicopters grounded, the response lost the aerial drops that had been supporting the ground effort, and the fire still managed to double before evening. The fire’s growth, the airspace disruption, and the ready status for nearby residents show the same problem from three sides: the blaze kept moving while one of the key suppression tools was paused.
For residents of Cundiyó and Cerro Piñon, the immediate step is to stay ready to leave if conditions change. The fire’s growth to 1,000 acres by Saturday evening makes the next shift in the fire line the detail that matters most for the surrounding communities.
