The New Mexico Wild Fires of 2011

I had made plans for the summer of 2011, especially those concerning volunteering in the Valles Caldera National Preserve (VCNP). I and three others were measuring the trees in wild turkey roosts, I was one of many who participated in tagging and tracking newborn Elk in the VCNP and I was about to participate in measuring the height of tall trees that had been detected by LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) in the VCNP.  

The lack of a ‘normal’ amount of rainfall in Northern New Mexico put a halt to my plans. As a result of this drought, the Santa Fe National Forest placed the VCNP and
national Forests under stage III fire conditions for the first time since 2004.

Stage III fire restrictions involve closure of public lands. Evaluation guidelines are reviewed to determine threshold levels that substantiate the need for closures.

The rainfall in Santa Fe alone was short by nearly five inches by the start of June; meaning that we have had less than an eighth of an inch of rain since the year began. For those of us living in Santa Fe the fire season became real with the advent of the huge Wallow fire that started on May 29, 2011 in Arizona. We woke up one morning in Santa Fe to the smell of smoke and ashes all over our automobiles. This fire became the largest in Arizona recorded history. It burned 538,049 acres in total.

Our next fire began in the Santa Fe National Forest and was called the Pacheco Fire. It was only a few miles from Santa Fe and we could see the smoke from our rooftop deck.

The Pacheco fire consumed about 10,250 acres.

The next fire was the Las Conchas fire that began on June 26, 2011 when the wind blew an Aspen onto a power line and caught fire. The line eventually broke and the fire spread rapidly in response to high winds and very dry conditions.

By June the population of Los Alamos was evacuated. We could see the smoke from our deck and we could see the flames from a near-by hill.

As of today the Las Conchas fire is the largest in New Mexico recorded history having burned more than 142,250 acres

The Donaldson fire was started by lightning on June 28, 2011 near Hondo, NM. This fire burned 101,563 acres becoming the second largest fire in NM recorded history.

Now, I am hoping for rain but a little at a time. With the loss of so much forest there is the real chance of rapid runoff from heavy rains resulting in flooding of communities and dangerous flash floods in many areas.