Bonito Lake reopening for fishing after over a decade of post-fire cleanup

**Editor’s Note: Bonito Lake is closed until further notice as of May 24, 2024, due to the Blue 2 Fire.

RUIDOSO, N.M. (KRQE) – Bonito Lake in Ruidoso is set to reopen for fishing after over a decade of remediation. The lake was impacted by the 2012 Little Bear Fire but is finally opening for fishing once again on May 25.

Bonito Lake was filled with hundreds of thousands of cubic feet of debris in storm events after the 2012 fire. The City of Alamogordo then received help from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to begin remediation. Now, enough work is finally complete to allow fishing, although the lake is still closed to other forms of recreation, like camping.

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is stocking Bonito Lake with rainbow trout. Brook trout can also be found in the lake, the department says. Fishing is only allowed from the shore of the lake; fishing from near the dam or near the creek inlet is prohibited.

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