Mt. Taylor, Magdalena and Mountainair Ranger Districts to Conduct Prescribed Fire to Reduce Hazardous Fuels

Mt. Taylor, Magdalena and Mountainair Ranger Districts

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – April 17, 2024 – Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands fire crews are preparing to strategically implement multiple prescribed fires in the coming weeks to reduce hazardous fuels pending suitable conditions. See attached map.

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.

See attached map.

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.

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: 1,455 acres on Unit 5 & 6 in the vicinity of Durfee and Bolander Canyon along FSR 220 and West of FSR 549. Smoke may be visible from the communities of Magdalena, Alamo and Datil.    

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
Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands Supervisor’s Office: 505-346-3900