Sandia Ranger District
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – December 10, 2025 – Cibola National Forest & National Grasslands (NF & NGs) fire crews successfully completed ignitions yesterday on the Sandia Ranger District Sulphur unit pile burning. Fire crews will continue mop up cooling ash pits and monitor until the unit is declared out.
Residual smoke from the Sulphur unit pile burning operations may be visible from Albuquerque, Tijeras, Edgewood and Moriarty, NM. Map attached. For more detailed information about air quality, go to AirNow online or download the app.
Recreation access to the Sulphur area may be closed for public safety while fire crews continue with monitoring the area.
Fire managers took advantage of recent precipitation, snow covered ground, cooler temperatures, and higher relative humidity recoveries that created suitable conditions for burning piled slash and woody debris from earlier forest restoration work on the Sulphur unit.
This will be the final update on the Sulphur Unit Pile burn operations unless conditions or the situation warrants additional information.
Cibola NF & NGs Fire management will look for opportunities in the coming weeks for continued prescribed fire operations of the Sandia Piles Project on the Cedro unit pending forecasted daily weather, fuel moisture conditions and required approvals.
Stay informed about scheduled prescribed fires through InciWeb, New Mexico Fire Information and on the Cibola NF & NGs website, Cibola Facebook and Cibola X sites.
