Frijoles Burned Area Summary Report is Available 

Santa Fe, N.M., September 17, 2026— A Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team has completed their assessment of the Frijoles Fire to identify and manage potential risks to resources on National Forest System lands. The goal of the BAER program is to reduce threats through appropriate emergency measures to protect human life and safety, property, and critical natural or cultural resources.  In addition to the BAER effort, a preliminary vegetation mortality assessment has been completed.  These assessments focused on 15,483 acres within the fire perimeter. Currently the fire is 15,956 acres with 79% containment. Once full containment is reached the Forest Service will consider additional BAER assessment if warranted on the more recently burned areas. 

Most of the burned area experienced unburned/very low (10%) or low (70%) soil burn severity located primarily in fire-adapted ponderosa pine and dry mixed conifer forests. There are some areas, in dry mixed conifer forests, that burned with greater intensity and experienced moderate (15%) or high (5%) soil burn severity. Soil burn severity is an important predictor of post-fire watershed impacts such as flooding and debris flows. These effects are expected to be realized primarily on National Forest land as there is an unburned buffer between the fire edge and Forest boundary. However, there is potential for ash, woody debris, and sediment to be carried beyond the Forest boundary under the right conditions. Expected vegetation mortality is relatively low and the fire tolerant forests are likely to recovery naturally.  

The Frijoles Burned Area Summary Report is available on the Santa Fe National Forest Website. Updated information about the Frijoles Fire operations, soil burn severity, maps, and BAER information are provided on Inciweb.  

Public Safety Advisory: Fire suppression continues and monsoons can create hazards extending beyond the fire area.  Everyone near and downstream from the burned area should remain alert and stay updated on weather conditions that may result in heavy rains and increased water runoff. Current weather and emergency notifications can be found at the National Weather Service website: www.weather.gov/abq/. 

Inciweb:  https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/nmsnf-frijoles-fire 
Burned Area Summary Report: https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/nfs/files/r03/santafe/publication/20260917%20Frijoles%20Burned%20Area%20Summary%20Report.pdf 

Contact:
(505) 407-5343
2026.frijoles@firenet.gov
fs.usda.gov/r03/santafe

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