A small fire in the backcountry of Big Bend National Park was quickly contained by park crews/NPS

A small fire was burning Thursday in Big Bend National Park in Texas, while the high fire danger in the state prompted a closure of all backcountry campsites in nearby Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

The fire in Big Bend was spotted late Wednesday morning near the southern edge of the Southwest Rim of the Chisos Mountains. By Thursday afternoon the fire had been contained at just 30 acres. The fire location is west of the South Rim Trail near South Rim 4 campsite, an area that burned one year ago. The cause of the fire is unknown at this point.

The South Rim is a rugged and remote location, only accessible via a 3-4 hour hike up steep trails. Early Wednesday evening, a crew of firefighters, including ten Diablos from Boquillas, Mexico, reached the fire area and began work to contain the fire overnight.

Backpacking campsites at SR2, 3, and 4 and the section of trail from Laguna Meadows to the South Rim were closed Thursday to allow park teams to focus on the wildfire.

Meanwhile, officials at Guadalupe Mountains National Park announced Thursday that they were closing all wilderness campgrounds until further notice due to extreme fire danger and increased wildfire activity throughout the area. The southwest area of New Mexico and far west Texas were experiencing high to extreme fire danger and increased wildfire activity throughout the area.

On April 19, the Southwest Agency Coordination Center moved from Preparedness Level 3 to Preparedness Level 4. Park rangers have also observed an increase in recent weeks of illegal fire activity by campers in in the Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness.

Due to the fire danger, the following restrictions were put in place at the national park:

• Use of camp stoves and other ignition devices are prohibited on all park trails and wilderness campsites.
• Overnight camping at all 10 wilderness campgrounds within the park is prohibited and permitting of overnight trips in the wilderness is suspended until further notice.

All trails, park-wide, remain open for day hiking at this time. Frontcountry developed campgrounds at Pine Springs and Dog Canyon remain open at this time, but there's a ban on outdoor smoking (including e-cigarettes) throughout the park, and stoves must be attended at all times.