Three locations are identified for prescribed fire, depending on weather, fuels conditions; fire crew availability

MIMBRES, NM, November 21, 2023 – The Gila National Forest, Wilderness Ranger District is planning to conduct multiple prescribed fires in December 2023, as permitted by weather and fuels conditions and availability of resources. The prescribed fires are scheduled to begin as early as December 4 and continue for about two weeks as conditions allow.

“Fire-adapted forests in the Southwest must undergo fire disturbance on a regular basis in order to maintain resiliency,” said Wilderness District Ranger Henry Provencio. “The objective of these prescribed fires is to reduce wildfire risk to forest resources and adjacent communities by using fire to consume piled and scattered slash from the landscape.”

Past and ongoing hazardous fuels thinning projects and timber sales have resulted in piled and scattered slash that will be burned to further reduce hazardous fuels. Prescribed burning will occur at the following locations:

·  Meekins Prescribed Fire is a 530-acre broadcast burn project in the Upper Terry Canyon area between Forest Road 150 and Forest Road 4079P. In broadcast burning, fire is applied across a predefined area of the landscape, requiring relatively dry fuels that are receptive to low- to moderate-intensity fire.
·  Gattons Park Wildland Urban Interface Prescribed Fire is a 132-acre broadcast burn project along the south side of New Mexico Highway 35 near the Gattons Park subdivision.
·   Slash piles may be burned on 35 acres of the Gila National Forest in the Lake Roberts area if sufficient moisture is received. In pile burning, fire is used to consume piled woody slash, requiring wetter conditions that do not allow fire to spread beyond the piles.

Areas will be signed and posted for public awareness. The district is preparing for both broadcast and pile burning so that opportunities to treat the landscape with fire will not be missed, when the right wet or dry weather conditions arise.

Smoke may be visible along New Mexico Highway 35, impacting driving visibility especially at night and in the early morning. Smoke will normally decrease significantly as daytime weather prevails. Air quality will be monitored to ensure that the New Mexico Environment Department’s Air Quality Bureau regulations are being met. Smoke-sensitive individuals and those with respiratory or heart disease should take precautionary measures. Air quality information and health protection measures are posted online at https://nmfireinfo.com/smoke-management/. For more information contact Maribeth Pecotte at 575-388-8211 or Maribeth.Pecotte@usda.gov .