August 3, 2020 
National Park Service Superintendent Kelly Fuhrmann announced that the Four Winds Fire Group will be burning wood piles in El Malpais National Monument starting Tuesday, Aug 4th and is expected to complete the project on Wednesday, Aug 5th. These wood piles are located along the west side of County Road 42 in the vicinity of the Big Tubes junction.
Weather conditions will be closely monitored to insure that the appropriate conditions exist to safely burn these piles. Smoke may be visible for several miles.
These wood piles are the result of mechanical thinning that was done in previous years to decrease fuel loads that will assist with reducing the possibility of a crown replacement fire during wildfire situations. This type of thinning also improves forest “edge” habitat which is beneficial to a variety of wildlife species.
For questions about the pile burning call the Fire Management Officer Kevin Parrish at (505) 285-4641 x35.
Comments are closed.