Fire

Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team 4 Assume Command Of Calf Canyon & Hermits Peak Fires

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

SFNF News:

The Southwest Area Type 2 Incident Management Team 4, led by Incident Commander Aaron Hulburd, assumed command of the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fires at 7 a.m. Monday, July 11.

Southwest Team 4 will continue the full suppression strategy implemented by Great Basin Incident Management Team 7, with an emphasis on suppression repair activities. 

Details:

  • Acres: 341,735;
  • Containment: 93 percent;
  • Total personnel: 308
  • Start Date: Hermits Peak: April 6; Calf Canyon: April 19;
  • Cause: Hermits Peak: Spot fires from prescribed
Read More

Forest Stewards Youth Corps Hiring Fire & Fuels Positions

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The Forest Stewards Youth Corps is recruiting for its fall fire and fuels season. Courtesy/SFNF

SFNF News:

SANTA FE — The Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) is sharing an opportunity for young adults interested in a career in wildland fire.

The Forest Stewards Youth Corps (FSYC) is recruiting for its fall fire and fuels season, which gives successful applicants entry-level training and on-the-ground experience working on wildfires, prescribed burns, tree planting and other natural resource projects. 

The FSYC program provides employment, education and training opportunities for recent Read More

County Addresses Cost Of Cerro Pelado Fire

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By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

Wildfires and other natural disasters are expensive. First and foremost, there are the costs to human life and wellbeing not to mention the environmental costs, but there are other expenses that rack up the bill to respond to a wildfire.

Los Alamos County is addressing this right now with the Cerro Pelado Fire. The fire may be considered contained, but the work to address the fire and its costs continue.

Senior Management Analyst David Griego said the most recent estimate of expenses incurred by the County for the wildfire totals Read More

SFNF Implements New Closure Order For Hermits Peak And Calf Canyon Fire Area

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The SFNF has announced a new closure order for the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon fire area that went into effect at 8 a.m. today. Courtesy/SFNF

SFNF News:

SANTA FE — A new closure order that went into effect at 8 a.m. today reopens some areas on the west side of the Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District that were closed under an earlier order, which terminates today, that restricted access to the entire district due to extreme fire danger.

Monsoonal precipitation and additional containment of the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fires have reduced the risk and allowed the Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District to Read More

Amateur Naturalist: Fire Ecology Of Ponderosa Trees

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(Picture 1) A disbursed grove of mature ponderosa trees with no young trees growing among them. One single young tree is growing outside of the grove in direct sunlight. Photo by Robert Dryja

By ROBERT DRYJA
Los Alamos

Ponderosa trees do not tolerant shade. 

Young ponderosa seedlings close to adult ponderosa trees grow slowly or not all in the shade of adult trees.  A grove of ponderosa trees therefore spreads out with few or no young trees growing among them. Low intensity forest fires reinforce this arrangement by burning low growing trees and shrubs. (A low intensity fire does not burn the upper Read More

Sen. Luján Addresses Supreme Court Ruling On EPA

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U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján

U.S. SENATE News:

WASHINGTON D.C. — U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) issued the following statement after the decision of the Supreme Court to undercut the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulatory authority:

“With historic wildfires and drought raging across New Mexico, we must act to meet the existential challenge posed by climate change. Today, (Thursday)  the Supreme Court undermined the federal government’s ability to do just that. This decision jeopardizes the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane.

“As Read More

Los Alamos Girl Scouts Give Sweet Thanks To Santa Fe Hotshots With ‘Cookies For Hometown Heroes’ Nomination

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Girl Scout Troop 10705 of Los Alamos present the Santa Fe Hotshots with cookies and thank you cards for their work on recent wildfires around the state. Courtesy/Forest Service 

Forest Service News:

SANTA FE – The Santa Fe National Forest’s (SFNF)  Santa Fe Hotshots recently enjoyed sweet recognition from Girl Scout Troop 10705 of Los Alamos.

The troop honored the hotshot crew by nominating the highly trained, highly experienced firefighters for the “Cookies for Hometown Heroes” program, a Girl Scout campaign that gives thanks to first responders, active military personnel and others who Read More

Do Not Plan To Visit Pecos Canyon Over 4th Of July

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SFNF News:

…Pecos/Las Vegas District Still Under Closure Order Due to Post-Fire Risks

SANTA FE – If you were thinking about celebrating Independence Day by camping or hiking in the Pecos Canyon corridor on the Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District on the Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF), please think again.

The popular area is still under a closure order to protect public safety during fire suppression repair and potential post-fire impacts, including flash flooding and debris flow.

Members of the public who are within the boundaries of the Pecos/Las Vegas District this weekend will be in Read More

Los Alamos County Issues Information On Prohibited And Permissible Fireworks

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COUNTY News:

While the Los Alamos Fire Department’s Fire Marshal lifted all fire restrictions in the county on June 23 thanks to monsoonal weather patterns, the use of fireworks of all kinds presents serious potential ignition of unwanted fires.

Therefore, this July 4, the Fire Marshal’s office has put together a list of prohibited and permissible fireworks in accordance with the Los Alamos County Council-adopted proclamation, which limits certain fireworks.  

Los Alamos County Councilors renewed the proclamation to limit the sale and use of fireworks at its June 14 meeting due to increased Read More