The Boy Scouts of America has confirmed that the Ute Park fire in New Mexico is affecting the Philmont Scout Ranch. Thankfully, youth members have not yet arrived at Philmont for the summer so there are no youth participants on-site.

Our Philmont staff are now back on the unaffected areas of the Ranch with the clearance of the authorities overseeing the situation after having been previously evacuated. All are safe and in good spirits. Additionally, livestock have also been moved to unaffected areas of the Ranch and are safe.

Currently, there are numerous resources from local, state and federal partners working to suppress this fire on the ground with support from multiple aerial firefighters. Additional incident management resources have also arrived to reinforce operations.

Damage assessments are difficult to assess currently, so we don’t know the total toll the fire has taken on structures and facilities.

We are thankful that no staff have been harmed, and for the outpouring of support from the community in response to this incident. Our thoughts are focused on the wellbeing of those responding to contain the Ute Park fire. We are grateful for their continued efforts.

For more information on the fire, please visit: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5820/