Gila News

MOISTURE VALUES ARE RUNNING ALMOST TWICE AS HIGH AS NORMAL AND STORM SPEED MOVEMENT IS EXPECTED TO BE FAIRLY SLOW.

Fourth of July events kick off at 7 a.m. Saturday with a Cowboy Breakfast sponsored by the Kiwanis Club in Gough Park, followed by a day filled with events and activities for the whole family.

* THROUGH EARLY THIS EVENING * ABUNDANT MOISTURE IN THE ATMOSPHERE WILL LEAD TO SCATTERED OR NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE WESTERN AND SOUTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AS WELL AS THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING.

The Bayard Housing Authority Board of Commissioners will hold a regular meeting at 5 p.m. today at 100 Runnels Drive.

This weekend marks the culmination of a nearly year-long effort by community members and volunteers to present a "green" living expo in Silver City.

The Silver City Police Department is looking into a rash of bicycle thefts that happened on the northeast part of town Sunday and Tuesday.

Silver City Police report that at about 11:40 p.m. Saturday, a 19-year-old man was found lying on the ground in the area of Chihuahua and Pinos Altos Street, with a stab wound to the middle of his back.

Officials with the Gila National Forest are warning visitors to be prepared in case streams and rivers flood during the monsoon season.

LOCAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS COULD EXCEED TWO INCHES IN SOME AREAS THROUGH LATE TONIGHT.

Donations are being accepted for the Silver City Aglow Rummage and Bake Sale, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, in the parking lot of Harvest Fellowship, 1500 N. Hudson St.

The Silver City Farmers' Market will be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon today, Main Street Plaza, Seventh and Main streets, next to the Big Ditch Park.

Twelve smokejumpers began an operation Tuesday to prevent the Diamond fire, in the Aldo Leopold Wilderness, from spreading into the area around Main Diamond Creek.

The Gila/San Francisco Water Commission will meet at 9 a.m. today at Glenwood Park, off Highway 174, Catwalk Road, Glenwood.

Three new fires were reported Friday: the Joshua, Johnson and Wilson fires in the Quemado and Reserve Ranger Districts.

Top Stories for Thursday, June 11th, 2009: Summer Reading Program under way at library SIGNING UP Above, County Commissioner Mary Ann Sedillo registers 8-year-old Cursten Blanton of Silver City for the Summer Reading Program at the Silver City Public Library.

As a lightning-sparked fire charred thousands of acres in southwestern New Mexico, biologists and firefighters used helicopters and trucks for an unusual evacuation.

Three distinct blazes ignited by lightning in Southwest New Mexico have carried the smell of smoke to other parts of the state, including Lincoln County Several callers were assured by dispatchers Tuesday that the smoke they saw to the west and smelled in their neighborhoods was from three fires in the Gila National Forest.

The Silver Stompers, Silver City's line dancing association, will host a statewide line dancing jamboree today and Wednesday.

Fire officials said weekend winds fanned the three fires believed to be caused by lighting strikes.

A fire blamed for a hazy sky and smoky smell Saturday night continues to burn in southwestern New Mexico.