USFS says fall, winter prescribed burns are extinguished

Protocol changed since 2022 prescribed burns started devastating northern NM wildfire

A crew member conducts ignitions behind homes in Taos Pines Ranch in Oct. 2024 U.S. Forest Service

By Hannah Grover
Courtesy of NM Political Report

The U.S. Forest Service’s Carson National Forest announced this week that the prescribed fires lit over the fall and winter from October through January have been safely extinguished.

Crews used infrared technology to look for heat at the burn sites.
The announcement comes amid severe to extreme drought conditions in much of New Mexico, which increases the risk that a spark could lead to a catastrophic wildfire.

As of Thursday, all parts of New Mexico were experiencing some level of drought, with more than half of the state being in extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

In 2022, a prescribed slash pile burn that was conducted in January reignited during the spring winds and led to the Calf Canyon Fire. The Calf Canyon Fire later joined with the Hermits Peak Fire and the combined fires became the largest wildfire in the state’s history.

“Since the National Prescribed Fire Program Review in 2022, our protocol has been to keep tabs on these burn areas for longer periods of time with more thoroughness than in years past,” Fire and Fuels Staff Officer Brent Davidson said in the announcement. 

Crews in the Carson National Forest conducted 10 prescribed burns over the fall and winter, which treated more than 7,000 acres of U.S. Forest Service lands.
Prescribed burns are an important tool in preventing future catastrophic wildfires and protecting watersheds.

One of the prescribed burns that occurred last fall was the La Jara prescribed fire adjacent to the Taos Pines Ranch near Angel Fire. The burn occurred following thinning and slash pile burns. The national forest says the work done in the area reduced the threat of wildfires and protects the headwaters of the Rio Fernando de Taos.

Looking forward: Projects in the East Mountains​

Brad Tauson, the Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands Fire Management Officer in the Sandia Ranger District, said the agency is preparing for prescribed burns in the East Mountains this fall and is doing work in the David Canyon area, located off of Raven Road south of Tijeras and accessible through Mars Court.

“We’ve had an ongoing project there for multiple years now,” he told East Mountains residents during a town hall Thursday evening in Tijeras.

He said the Forest Service also has projects in the Sulfur and Cieniega Canyon area near Cedar Crest.

“We do have some pile projects up there as we may implement once we receive enough moisture in the fall season and in the winter,” Tauson said.
The Forest Service is also looking at doing a pilot project in the Cedro lookout area this fall.