Cave Fire
The Cave Fire was reported on April 2, 2026 in Lincoln County, New Mexico and burned 458 acres. It was declared out on April 22, 2026. The cause is listed as human.
- Size
- 458 acres
- Contained
- 100%
- Discovered
- April 2, 2026
- Personnel
- 11
Radar
Reflectivity now over Cave Fire. Open it to see fires and the fire weather outlook on the map.
Radar mosaic and map layers from NOAA MRMS and NOAA Storm Prediction Center. Boundaries from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet.
Map
Perimeter mapped September 20, 2026 at 12:25 AM MDT (mixed methods). Point of origin 33.690, -105.039.
The incident
- Size
- 458 acres
- Containment
- 100%
- Discovered
- April 2, 2026 at 2:09 PM MDT
- Contained
- April 3, 2026 at 6:46 PM MDT
- Controlled
- April 22, 2026 at 2:44 PM MDT
- Declared out
- April 22, 2026 at 2:44 PM MDT
- Cause
- Human
- Location
- 27 Miles NE from Capitan, NM
- County
- Lincoln County
- State
- New Mexico
- Nearest city reported
- Capitan
- Protecting agency
- SF
- Land ownership at origin
- Private
- Personnel assigned
- 11
- Incident management
- Type 4 IC, Type 4 Incident
- Primary fuel
- Tall Grass (2.5 feet)
- Estimated cost to date
- $100,000
- Incident type
- Wildfire
- Unique fire identifier
- 2026-NMN5S-000166
- IRWIN identifier
- F8A458F2-5E57-4FE2-85B5-B50C0283C781
Weather in the area
This fire is no longer listed as current. The forecast for Capitan, NM covers the area today.
Nearby
- Capitan, NM32 miles west of the fire’s origin
- Roswell, NM36 miles southeast of the fire’s origin
- Ruidoso Downs, NM41 miles southwest of the fire’s origin
- Ruidoso, NM44 miles southwest of the fire’s origin
- Dexter, NM51 miles southeast of the fire’s origin
- Mescalero, NM56 miles southwest of the fire’s origin
New Mexico wildfires today Wildfires of 2026 All current fires
Incident record from the National Interagency Fire Center’s Wildland Fire Interagency Geospatial Services (WFIGS), as the incident’s managers report it; last updated September 20, 2026 at 12:25 AM MDT. Identifier 2026-NMN5S-000166.