Cibola National Forest Planning for Prescribed Fire to Reduce Hazardous Fuels

Projects on Mt Taylor, Magdalena, Mountainair, Sandia, Black Kettle and Kiowa Rita Blanca Ranger Districts

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Feb. 1, 2024 – Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands fire crews are preparing to strategically implement multiple prescribed fires in the coming weeks across the forest and grasslands to reduce hazardous fuels pending suitable conditions.

Prescribed fires are utilized to remove hazardous fuels, return nutrients to the soil and improve forest health. Fuels specialists write prescribed burn plans that identify – or prescribe – the best conditions under which trees and other plants will burn to get the best results safely. Burn plans consider temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of the vegetation and conditions for dispersal smoke.

With fire there is smoke, but firefighters take measures to reduce smoke impacts as much as possible. Fire crews use tactics such as starting early in the day and ending ignitions early in the afternoon to allow for the most ventilation possible throughout the burn and dividing blocks into smaller units to minimize smoke impacts as much as possible. However, smoke may be visible periodically from local communities for the duration of the project until the burning vegetation is out. Information on air quality and protecting your health can be found online at the www.airnow.gov/

Our land management strategy is centered on long-term forest health and that strategy includes reducing forest fuels and using prescribed fire on the landscape. A healthy forest is a resilient forest that undergoes fire occurrences on a regular basis. After prescribed fire is completed, if a future wildfire reaches this area, the fire behavior will likely be modified to a less intense, more manageable surface fire due to the absence of accumulated debris and ladder fuels.

Exact ignition dates for each prescribe fire operation will depend upon agency administrator approval and conditions within the ranges outlined in the project burn plan.

Mountainair Ranger District – Capilla RX: 543 acres of broadcast burning on the Capilla Fuels Reduction and Restoration Project in the Manzano Mountains located approximately 6 miles northwest of the town of Mountainair in the southern half of the Manzano Mountains, in Torrance County New Mexico. Smoke may be visible in the surrounding areas of Mountainair, Punta de Agua, Manzano, or the Estancia Valley.

Sandia Ranger District: David Canyon RX Fire: 621 acres in the David Canyon area, in the Manzanita Mountains. David Canyon is located west of Hwy 337 and West of the Mars Court trailhead. Smoke may be visible in the surrounding areas of Tijeras, Edgewood, Moriarty and Albuquerque.

Sandia Ranger District: Sulphur Piles RX Fire: 29 acres of piles within the Sulphur unit under the Sandia Piles Rx plan. The pile burn area is located in the Sandia east mountains, north of I-40, west of NM-14 and south of NM-536. Smoke may be visible from Albuquerque, Tijeras and Edgewood.

Mount Taylor Ranger District: Redondo RX Fire: 706 acres on Sawyer located 3 miles west of Post Office Flats on Forest Road (FR) 480 in the Zuni Mountains. Smoke may be visible in the surrounding area of Ramah, Gallup, Thoreau, Bluewater, Grants and Millan.

Mount Taylor Ranger District: East La Jara RX Fire: 800 acres 7 miles NE of Grants NM smoke may be visible from Grants, Acoma, Laguna, Cubero and Seboyeta.

Magdalena Ranger District: Durfee Bolander RX Burn: 1,949 acres on Unit 5 & 6 in the vicinity of Durfee and Bolander Canyon along FSR 220 and East of FSR 549. Smoke may be visible from the communities of Magdalena, Alamo and Datil.  

Black Kettle National Grassland Ranger District: Broadcast burning of multiple blocks up to 2,500 acres across the district. Smoke may be visible from Roger Mills County, Oklahoma.  

Kiowa Rita Blanca National Grasslands Ranger District: Broadcast burning of multiple blocks up to 2,500 acres across the district. Smoke may be visible from Clayton, New Mexico and Felt, Oklahoma.

Implementation announcements and updates on prescribed fire projects will be posted on InciWeb, New Mexico Fire Information and on the Cibola NF & NGs website, Cibola Facebook and Cibola Twitter sites.

Mt Taylor Ranger District Office: 505-287-8833
Magdalena Ranger District Office: 575-854-2281
Mountainair Ranger District Office: 505-847-2990
Sandia Ranger District Office: 505-281-3304
Black Kettle National Grassland District Office: 580-497-2143
Kiowa and Rita Blanca National Grasslands District Office: 575-374-9652
Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands Supervisor’s Office: 505-346-3900