USDA Forest Service News:

The USDA Forest Service released the following update this morning on the Cerro Pelado Fire:

With critical fire weather expected over this holiday weekend, the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team 3 would like to remind the public to be safe with fire and observe all closures and fire restrictions.

Temperatures will continue to increase over the fire area with lower relative humidity in the single digits. Fire behavior continues to be minimal across the fire area.

Crews will continue work on the northwest side of the fire near the Jemez Falls area. The crews will mop up further into the interior of the fires’ edge, some areas 100 feet deep. Crews and heavy equipment operators will continue doing suppression repair on the south side of the fire.

With all suppression repair work complete, the resources in the northeast and southeast quadrants of the fire will continue to patrol the fires edge.

Incident Statistics:

• Size: 45,605 acres
• Containment: 92 percent
• Start Date: April 22, 2022
• Cause: Unknown

Resources: 12 Type 2 hand crews, 18 engines, 1 bulldozer, 9 water tenders, 3 ambulances and  2 helicopters.

The Bandelier National Monument is opening today. Visit their website for the latest information at  www.nps.gov/band/index.htm

BAER Information: 

• The Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team has begun assessment of National Forest System (NFS) lands impacted by the Cerro Pelado Fire. Information and resources can be found on the Cerro Pelado Post-Fire BAER assessment InciWeb page at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8118/

Evacuations: 

• Sandoval County: https://www.sandovalcountynm.gov/fire-alerts/

Closures:

• Santa Fe National Forest Closure order: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/santafe/alerts-notices
• Carson National Forest Closure order: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/carson/alerts-notices
• Cibola National Forest Closure order: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/cibola/alerts-notices

Fire Restrictions: 

• The Santa Fe, Carson and Cibola National Forests have implemented forest closures due to the extreme fire danger. Stage II Fire Restrictions remain in effect for the Santa Fe National Forest, which prohibits all campfires and other hazardous activities. Due to ongoing fire threats, Sandoval County will not issue burn permits. Stage III Fire Restrictions are in effect for Pueblo de Cochiti and Los Alamos.

Air Quality: 

• Information on air quality is at New Mexico Department of Health Environmental Public Health Tracking: https://nmtracking.org/fire, and an interactive smoke map is available at https://fire.airnow.gov/.

Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR):

• There is a flight restriction over the fire area and drones are also prohibited. Temporary Flight Restrictions

Courtesy/USDAFS