Wildfire — Middle Rio Grande Valley/albuquerque Metro Area, New Mexico

2025-06-21 to 2025-06-22 · Middle Rio Grande Valley/albuquerque Metro Area, New Mexico

Event narrative

The Cotton fire was discovered in the afternoon of 6/21 while the Cotton II was discovered on the morning of 6/22 and determined to be human caused. Both quickly became combined into the Desert Willow Complex Fire on 6/22 burning in the bosque area on both sides of the Rio Grande north and south of Main Street Bridge in Los Lunas. Unfortunately, 11 structures were destroyed with 9 of them homes, and 4 other structures were damaged. Media reported 12 firefighters were treated for smoke and heat injuries while two firefighters were hospitalized. Evacuations were ordered for residences in the area, ending by the 23rd. The Cotton fire burned 95 acres while the Cotton II fire burned 145 acres, totaling 237 acres for the entire complex. Damage is an estimate based on the number of homes and structures destroyed.

Wider weather episode

The Desert Willow Complex was a combination of the Cotton and Cotton II wildfires discovered in Los Lunas south and north of Main Street Bridge on the east and west sides of the Rio Grande. The wildfire unfortunately destroyed 11 structures, 9 of which were homes, while damaging 4 other structures. Evacuations were ordered on the 21st and ended by the 23rd when the fire stopped growing and was brought under control. The lightning caused Skyline Fire was discovered on 6/21 just south of U.S. Highway 380 and Hondo. This fire burned 127 acres and destroyed no structures.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1258759. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.