October 29, 2026 
Fire managers are planning to take advantage of recent storms to conduct pile burning at two locations as early as October 30, 2026:
- Unit G Pile Burn (75 acres), northeast of Turley Mill, N.M.
- Willow Pile Burn (411 acres) south of Tusas Valley
Ignitions are expected to last multiple days.
Crews usually conduct understory burning at this time of year, when fire is applied broadly across large acreages of forest floor and grasslands. But with recent weather dampening the ground, pile burning becomes the available option for prescribed fire.
Pending required approvals, fire managers will only move forward with ignitions if weather and fuels conditions are safe and conducive for burning. A test burn to observe fire behavior will be conducted each day to determine if ignitions should move forward. If successful, full ignitions will commence and crews will patrol and monitor the area until the fire is called out, an effort that can take weeks to months, depending on future weather.
The pile units are surrounded by control lines. Smoldering piles may put off a glow each night after ignitions.
To receive ignition notices and more information from Carson National Forest, sign up emails at https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/carson/keep-in-touch.
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