Crews Continue to Patrol and Monitor Alamosa Unit 1 After Rain, Snow

Despite recent rain and snowfall over the prescribed fire in Alamosa Unit 1, fire crews will continue to patrol and monitor it until fire managers call it out.

Crews have been on site patrolling and monitoring the fire since Wednesday, Nov. 15, when the last update was published. Along with some clean-up ignitions the following day, the fire continued to creep and smolder, consuming surface fuels like fallen pine needles and oak leaves.

In total, fire managers’ goal of treating the entire 4,500-acre unit has been met.

This project adjacent to Vallecitos, NM (Rio Arriba County), will maintain forest health within an area that was first treated with prescribed fire in 2014. Fire-dependent forests in the Southwestern Region must undergo fire disturbance on a regular basis to maintain resiliency. If a future wildfire reaches an area with recent fire history, fire behavior is likely to be modified to a less intense, more manageable surface fire, making it safer for firefighters to engage.

(Photo: Snow falls over Almosa Unit 1 on Nov. 19, 2023)