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Capitan, New Mexico

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1934 and the latest in 2004. It stands in the Capitan census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88316. It stands on Magado Creek. The Survey maps it on the Capitan quadrangle. 1,391 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 6,348 feet above sea level.

Capitan within Lincoln County

On record in Capitan

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Capitan fell from 1,489 to 1,391 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20101,489
20201,391-98 (-7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 15 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

102 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 102 fires within 5 miles of Capitan between 1992 and 2020, burning about 6,844 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 8 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined47
Equipment and vehicle use18
Natural13
Arson/incendiarism8
Debris and open burning8
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Recreation and ceremony2
Smoking2
Misuse of fire by a minor1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
3 September 2000Naturalunder an acreRoswell Field OfficeEQUESTRIAN
20 September 2011Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionSTOKES
15 September 2000Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionGUNRANGE
13 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionGUN RANGE
3 August 2012Natural1.0 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionRAIN DROP
21 August 2011Natural1.0 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionGAP
11 August 2011Naturalunder an acreNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionBREWER
1 August 2003Naturalunder an acreNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionBREWER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Lincoln County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Capitan: 4 unknowns. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Materials PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Materials PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Materials PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Materials PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Lincoln County

Storms near this place

16 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Capitan in 16 storm reports between 1995 and 2021: 7 hail, 7 flash flood, 1 tornado, 1 lightning. The reports record 2 deaths and 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2015LightningCapitan1 killed, 1 hurtKalina Jinzo, a 40-year mother of three, was struck by lightning and killed while traveling from Albuquerque to Ruidoso on a motorcycle on the 15th. Her husband was also struck but his injuries were not life threatening. The woman died several days later in a Lubbock hospital around the 22nd.
October 1996Flash FloodCapitan1 killedno account filed
September 2014Flash FloodCapitan$130,000Flooding was reported on State Road 246 at mile markers 4,27-29, and 55-56. Pavement was damaged at mile marker 29. The highway was closed from Capitan to Roswell.
July 2021Flash FloodCapitan$30,000Heavy rain near Capitan in Lincoln County resulted in the rapid rise of the Magado Creek near the Capitan Fairgrounds. The Magado Creek rose an estimated ten feet which caused the flooding of a low water crossing in the area and temporarily trapping two unoccupied vehicles. No injuries or fatalities were reported. Damages are estimated for the damage to the two vehicles.
July 2021Flash FloodCapitan$20,000Video obtained by KOAT TV showed flash flooding in Angus with fast moving water rushing against a home and leaking underneath the doorway. No significant damages are known, and damages are estimated for minor home flood damage.
July 2007Flash FloodCapitan$5,000Rainfall of 3.8 inches was measured in Capitan in one hour. The heavy rain caused flood waters up to 3 feet deep to flow through some streets in Capitan. Two secondary roads off Highway 380 east of town were washed out as a crest of water raged downstream topping roads near Salado Creek with up to 6 feet of water.
June 2007Tornado (EF0)Capitan$5,000The tornado touched down at Mile Marker 16 on Highway 246 for 1-2 minutes. Large trees were uprooted and power poles were snapped in half.
May 2021HailCapitan-A CoCoRaHS observer near Capitan reported penny size hail from a strong thunderstorm moving northeast through the area.
August 2021Flash FloodCapitan-Heavy rain caused Oso Creek to overfill its banks and overtop Dawson Road. The Lincoln County emergency manager reported that Dawson Road was flooded for about 20 to 30 minutes. No damages are known.
June 2017HailCapitan-Hail up to the size of quarters near Capitan.
June 2017HailCapitan-Hail up to the size of quarters near Capitan.
June 2017HailCapitan-Hail up to the size of golf balls in Capitan. Heavy rainfall and hail accumulations at Brewer Ranch produced flooding in low lying areas.
May 2014HailCapitan-Damage reported to cars and numerous windows shattered in area homes and businesses in Capitan.
July 2004Flash FloodCapitan-Water was moving too swift over the roadways and around an overpass to allow travel at mile mark 83 on Highway 380. Arroyos were running full also.
June 1995HailCapitan-Thunderstorm winds which damaged several roofs and signs in Carrizozo were followed with golf ball-size hail that dimpled vehicles and tattered trees and gardens in Capitan.
June 2007HailCapitan-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Lincoln County

Newspapers printed here

178 digitised pages

1 paper published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 43 issues, 178 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.

NewspaperPublished
El Farol1905 to 19??

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Coalora2.0 miles15
Fort Stanton4.3 miles9
Double Crossing7.1 miles14
Nogal7.2 miles15
Vera Cruz (historical)8.0 miles15
Angus8.5 miles11
Bonito9.8 miles11
Lincoln10.6 miles9

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on CapitanAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1034678The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 923574. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.