Fire crews treated another 2,800 acres with broadcast prescribed fire in the Valle Vidal today, wrapping up the primary ignitions in the McCrystal Rock Unit for a total of 4,000 acres this year. Tomorrow, firefighters will work to clean-up some areas in and around the edges of the burn but little to no acreage growth […]

Fire crews treated 1,200 acres with broadcast prescribed fire in the Valle Vidal today. Forest Service personnel, assisted by members of the Red River and Taos County fire departments, used drip torches to black line segments of the 6,333-acre McCrystal Rock Unit’s northern and eastern boundary before a helicopter crew ignited areas within.  Crews plan […]

Fire crews late this morning conducted a successful test fire and are continuing ignitions on the McCrystal Rock Prescribed Fire in Valle Vidal. Ignitions are expected to last two to three days. Today’s weather is tranquil with forecasted afternoon winds of 6 to 10 mph, according to the latest National Weather Service spot forecast. Go […]

Fire crews are planning to move forward with ignitions on the McCrystal Rock Prescribed Fire in Valle Vidal on Oct. 13, when forecasts show a significant decrease in winds and increase in relative humidity. Crews will first conduct a test fire to evaluate fire behavior. If the test is successful, ignitions within the 6,333-acre prescribed […]

Carson National Forest personnel are preparing to potentially begin prescribed fire operations in the Canjilon Wildland Urban Interface Project next week. Ignitions on 899-acre Montoya and 841-acre Blas units could start as early as Monday, Oct. 16, but the timing will ultimately be based on weather and on-site conditions in consultation with a meteorologist.  Fire […]

Carson National Forest personnel are preparing to potentially start the McCrystal Rock Prescribed Fire in Valle Vidal late next week. Crews could begin ignitions on the 6,333-acre project as early as Oct. 12, but the timing will ultimately be based on weather and on-site conditions in consultation with a meteorologist.  “We’ve been looking for opportunities […]

Carson National Forest crews this morning responded and fully contained a lightning-caused fire on the Jicarilla Ranger District, west of Dulce, NM. The tenth-acre Cabresto Fire is off Forest Road 309B (Google Map) near Cabresto Canyon (not to be confused with the popular canyon of the same name near the communities of Questa and Red […]

[Update: The fire was contained on Sep. 26, 2023] Fire crews this afternoon were on scene in Taos Canyon of Carson National Forest (map) suppressing a small wildfire. Caused by lightning on a previous day, smoke from the Casita Fire was first reported around 12:30 p.m. It is a tenth-acre and smoldering in a mixed […]

Carson National Forest fire management personnel have called the Dorado/Cañada del Agua Prescribed Fire out. Fire crews have been monitoring and patrolling the 3,000-acre prescribed fire since ignitions three months ago and there have been no signs of heat or smoke in since mid-July. Significant rain over the area this week was the remaining action […]

Fire crews fully contained the 525-acre El Valle Fire by the end of their shift Sunday evening. They will continue to maintain a presence in the area to patrol and mop-up interior heat before calling it controlled and out. Suppression repair activities will also continue.  “I want to thank all the firefighters that responded to […]

Fire crews, including from local fire departments, increased containment on the 525-acre El Valle Fire to 88% today. Crews have also been focusing on suppression repair activities, such as fixing fences, building waterbars along handlines, grading roads and rehabilitating culverts.   Forest Road 207 in El Valle has reopened, but Forest Road 714 will remain […]

Canjilon Ranger District staff will host a community meeting about continuing to implement the Canjilon Wildland Urban Interface Project. Since 2011, staff and contractors have been thinning and applying prescribed fire around the communities of Canjilon and Placita Garcia, which are completely surrounded by Carson National Forest. Many adjacent private landowners have also been thinning […]

Fire crews are still on scene of the 525-acre fire, which remains 85% contained. Forest Roads 207 and 714 are closed, except to residents of those roads. Suppression repair efforts have begun. On a weather front, a flood watch is once again in effect, beginning at noon and lasting into the evening. Residents should be […]

A flood watch is in effect for burn areas in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of Carson National Forest from noon through late night. Residents should be aware of potential debris flows and monitor forecasts for flood warnings. Be prepared to take action should flooding develop and move to higher ground.

Fire crews, including from local fire departments, continued to increase containment on the 525-acre El Valle Fire, reaching 83% today. Earlier, the Taos County Sheriff lifted all evacuation statuses at 10:30 a.m.  Rain across the area has aided crews in their efforts with firefighters reporting ground saturation up to a half foot down into the […]

In consultation with the unified command team, the Taos County Sheriff’s Office has lifted all evacuation statuses for the El Valle Fire. Forest Roads 207 and 714 remain closed to non-residents.

Crews were back on scene today to continue increasing containment, which is now at 58%. Fire behavior has been minimal, but residual heat and isolated smoke were found throughout the burn area. Rainfall did occur in the later afternoon with no observations of flooding. With minimal fire behavior, fire personnel were able to walk and […]

Fire crews continued progress on the 521-acre El Valle Fire today, increasing containment to 32%. Continued work to strengthen lines and a change in weather prompted the Taos County Sheriff’s Department to lift all “Go” evacuations starting at 6:30 p.m., moving El Valle and Las Trampas to a “Set” status, using the Ready, Set, Go! system.  […]

With favorable weather and light fire behavior, fire crews and air resources continued suppression actions on the El Valle Fire today by nearly lining the entire 521-acre burn area, which was mapped earlier this morning by an infrared flight. Containment, however, will remain at 0% as crews have not begun to secure and mop up […]

An infrared flight took place this morning, finding the size at 521 acres, as of 9:45 a.m. Containment remains at 0%. This map shows the 521-acre burn area. Green shading is National Forest land (341 acres) and brown shading shows non-Forest Service lands (181 acres). The fire is currently showing much less intense behavior, however, […]