September 27, 2023 
SANTA FE, N.M., Sept. 27, 2023—Fire managers are making good progress with the Golondrino prescribed burn on the Santa Fe National Forest. The 2,227-acre Golondrino prescribed burn is in the Cuba district east of the communities of Llaves and North of Gallina.
Golondrino Prescribed Burn, Cuba Ranger District
Crews completed 1,555 acres yesterday utilizing a combination of hand ignitions around the perimeter and aerial operations (helicopter) for the interior portion of the burn. This, in combination with the 75 acres completed on September 25, makes for a total of 1,630 acres burned. All operations went smoothly and remained within the prescription parameters. Some unburned vegetation remains within the interior of the project area. Crews will ignite those unburned areas today. Burning operations are anticipated to be completed on the Golondrino today; crews will continue to monitor, secure and hold in the coming days.
Although the project area is larger than the completed acres, a portion of the burn unit did not fall into prescription parameters (too wet to burn successfully). Crews concentrated on those areas that met the prescribed fire objectives. “We expect the majority of smoke impacts to be gone by mid-day for the Golondrino burn and for remaining smoke impacts to be light for several days after,” said Golondrino Burn Boss Josiah Salaz.
Rincon Prescribed Burn, Coyote Ranger District
The 2,227-acre Rincon (same acreage as the Golondrino) prescribed fire is on French Mesa, off Forest Road 8, on the Coyote Ranger District about seven miles north of the community of Gallina. The Rincon prescribed fire is scheduled to begin on Thursday, Sept. 28 pending favorable weather conditions. Estimated ignition time is around 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. As with the Golondrino prescribed burn, firefighters will utilize test burns to ensure conditions are good for implementation, creating containment buffers to secure the line and utilizing aerial ignitions for interior burning.
From a smoke standpoint, ventilation (smoke dispersal) is forecast to be excellent for the Rincon burn, although there will be some settling of smoke in the evenings. Ignitions will likely occur for 1-2 days with the potential for smoke for several additional days. Smoke may impact the communities of Llaves, Golondrino, Abiquiu and Taos.
“Aerial ignition greatly reduces the amount of time needed to light the project area, which also reduces the amount of time the community will experience smoke,” said Rincon Burn Boss Rian Ream.
For both the Golondrino and Rincon prescribed burns, resources will remain on scene until the burns are declared secure and patrolled until declared out.
For current information on smoke, go to the Fire and Smoke Map (airnow.gov)
The objectives of these prescribed burns include but are not limited to: reducing juniper encroachment, enhancing wildlife forage, increasing canopy base heights to reduce ladder fuels, and reducing forest floor fuel loading while minimizing smoke impacts.
In fire-dependent ecosystems such as we have in northern New Mexico, these ecosystems require low to moderate-intensity fire for the ecosystem to remain in optimal health. Prescribed burns reduce excess amounts of fuels while cycling nutrients back into the soil and enhancing the growth of plants that wildlife depend upon for forage.
Prescribed burn updates will be posted on the New Mexico Fire Information website and on the Santa Fe National Forest’s Facebook page and Website. For more information on the Golondrino burn, contact the Cuba Ranger District at 575-289-3264. For more information on the Rincon burn, contact the Coyote Ranger District at 575-638-5526.
NM Fire Info 
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