Fire Crews Respond to Yeso and Mesa del Medio Fires

Carson National Forest fire crews are monitoring two lightning-caused fires to the south of Canjilon, N.M. The Yeso and Mesa del Medio fires are burning just outside the Canjilon Wildland Urban Interface Project, where the Forest Service, partners and landowners have been thinning and applying prescribed fire for over a decade. 

The two fires are about a mile and a half apart with an estimated combined size of four acres. They are creeping in the understory of piñon-juniper and ponderosa pine with some minor torching on the Yeso Fire. 

Both fires are south of prescribed fire units that have been thinned and pile burned. Crews are planning to treat one of them with understory burning this fall. And last October, they completed the nearby 841-acre Blas Unit, which borders the south side of Canjilon. 

“This is exactly why we and our partners are continuing to do this work around Canjilon,” said District Ranger Angie Krall. “With thinning and burning in the area, we now have options for managing these fires to reduce the risk of wildfire to the community and maintain forest and watershed health.” 

Krall and fire staff are evaluating management strategies, which can range from full suppression to using fire to restore its natural role in the ecosystem, as it is naturally frequent and low severity in areas of ponderosa pine. The strategy will be risk-informed, including collaboration with meteorologists and examining previous restoration in the area, such as the adjacent prescribed fire units and last spring’s Comanche Fire, which was caused by lightning nearby and managed up to 1,974 acres. 

Crews will continue to monitor the fires until a management strategy is finalized, which could be later this week. Chances of showers and thunderstorms are forecasted for the next several days. 

There are no closures or evacuations. Smoke may be visible from Canjilon, El Rito, Ghost Ranch and stretches of U.S. Route 84 and the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. 

Forest Service staff and partners have invested over $10 million in the Canjilon Wildland Urban Interface Project since 2011. Many adjacent private landowners, with the assistance of the state, are contributing by thinning and applying prescribed fire on their own properties. 

The fires are within the expansive two-state Rio Chama Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project, where governments and partners are coming together to address forest and watershed health that is critical to local communities and downstream urban areas.