Fire

Calf Canyon Fire: Suppression Repair; Forest Closures Remain In Effect As Debris Flows Impact Roadways & Trails

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Map of the Calf Canyon Fire. Courtesy/SFNF 

SFNF News:

Containment increased to 96 percent. Suppression repair work is ongoing, as weather conditions allow. Areas across the fire are experiencing dangerous conditions, such as flooding and debris flows. Residents and visitors are encouraged to review the most current closures at the link below.

Details:

  • Acres: 341,735;
  • Containment: 96 percent;
  • Total personnel: 403;
  • Start Date: Hermits Peak: April 6; Calf Canyon: April 19;
  • Cause: Hermits Peak: Spot fires from prescribed burn; Calf Canyon: Holdover fire from prescribed pile burn;
  • Location:
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Integrity New Mexico Calls On USDA Inspector General To Investigate If Political Pressure To Get Hermits Peak Prescribed Burn Done Overruled Common Sense

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Integrity NM News:

SANTA FE — Integrity New Mexico (Integrity NM) has filed a request with the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for an investigation into whether there was undue political pressure to get the Hermits Peak prescribed burn done.   

The Forest Service is responsible for the largest forest fire disaster in the state’s history. Numerous media outlets have reported that rank-and-file Forest Service employees felt pressured to “get the job done” in a political environment where the Governor supports the Biden Administration’s climate change agenda. One Read More

New Mexico Highlands University Houses Wildfire Evacuees

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NMHU News:

When the Hermit’s Peak and Calf Canyon Wildfires began, New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) stepped in to help.

Kathryn Mahan, the ecological monitoring program manager for the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute at Highlands University, has been splitting her time between Kansas and her home in Las Dispensas.

Mahan said she was in Kansas in early April and in the middle of packing up her belongings and her young daughter to head to her home in Las Dispensas when she got word that her house had burned to the ground. She soon learned that her home was the first Read More

SFNF Hiring Temporary Workforce For 2023 Fire Season

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SFNF News:

SANTA FE — Make a lasting impact on the world around you and unlock opportunities for professional growth and career advancement. Join the Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and be a part of an organization that is committed to caring for the land and serving people.

The Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) is hiring temporary positions in fire for the 2023 season, including engine crews, Santa Fe Hotshots, helitack crews, dispatchers and fire lookouts.

Proposed start dates would be late March/early April 2023. Applications are only accepted through www.usajobs.gov Read More

Calf Canyon Fire: Monsoonal Weather & Flash Flood Potential Persist As Crews Continue Suppression Repair Efforts When Feasible

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Map of the Calf Canyon Fire. Courtesy/SFNF 

SFNF News:

The Southwest Incident Management Team 5, under Incident Commander Mark Bernal, took command at 7 a.m. today, of the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fires.

Team 5 said it is glad to be back and serving the local communities. The two fires will now both be referred to as Calf Canyon Fire; however, the Hermits Peak Inciweb Page and email will remain active and will contain with up-to-date information.

Details:

  • Acres: 341,735;
  • Containment: 93 percent;
  • Total personnel: 681;
  • Start Date: Hermits Peak: April 6; Calf Canyon: April 19;
  • Cause: Hermits
Read More

Lohmann: After Fire & Flood, Ash Chokes Acequias In Northern New MexicoM

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A burned truck near the burn scar of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon Fire. Photo by Patrick Lohmann/Source NM

By PATRICK LOHMANN 
Source New Mexico

Grace Vigil peered through the blinds of her mobile home near Mora last week and, seeing the wall of water rushing toward her, realized how few options she had. 

To her left was Cañoncito Creek, which had swelled over its banks, growing large and fast enough to carry trees and debris at high speed. To her right was the flooded acequia, also impassable. Between them, a small garden, a pile of sandbags and, crashing down the valley, a 4-foot wall of water that Read More

Deputy Fire Chief Wendy Servey Makes Los Alamos History

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Newly promoted Deputy Fire Chief Wendy Servey makes history today as the first woman in Los Alamos to hold that rank. Courtesy/LAFD

By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post
caclark@ladailypost.com

“When she was assigned to my crew as a probationary firefighter at Station 4, I knew she was destined for greatness with us.” –Former Los Alamos Deputy Fire Chief Justin Grider

With her promotion today to Deputy Fire Chief, Wendy Elizabeth Servey just made history as the first woman in Los Alamos County to hold that rank.

This promotion actually marks the second time Servey has made local history. She

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Scenes From Los Alamos County Airport Open House

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Scene of a member of the New Mexico National Guard briefing young boys this morning during an open house at Los Alamos County Municipal Airport sponsored by the airport in association with the Los Alamos Civil Air Patrol and Experimental Aircraft Association. The event included static displays and exhibits by the New Mexico Pilots Association, Classic Air Medical, New Mexico National Guard, New Mexico State Police, Los Alamos Fire and Police Departments, LANL Hazmat and Robotics, and others as well as food, drinks and other activities. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com

Scene of members Read More

Gov. Lujan Grisham Reiterates State Request To President Biden For Authorization Of Additional Federal Assistance For Wildfire Disaster Response

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Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham

From the Office of the Governor:

SANTA FE — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham Friday requested that President Joe Biden direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency to include flooding impacts in New Mexico’s disaster declaration for counties affected by wildfires and extend the duration of the state’s disaster declaration with 100 percent federal cost coverage.

“While the state continues to employ every available asset to assist affected New Mexico communities, the ongoing monsoon season is exacerbating the devastation in burn scar areas and intensifying the Read More

Calf Canyon & Hermits Peak Fires: Suppression Repair Progress Interrupted By Rain & Flooding

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Map of the Calf Canyon and Hermits Peak fires. Courtesy/SFNF 

SFNF News:

A recorded informational update for the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fire has been posted on the Santa Fe National Forest Facebook page. This video contains informational updates and important resources from the Incident Management Team; the Taos, San Miguel, and Mora County Offices of Emergency Management; the Burned Area Emergency Response Team; and the Carson and Santa Fe National Forests.

The Southwest Incident Management Team 4 will transfer command of the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fire to the Southwest Incident Read More