QUEMADO, NM - For Immediate Release – Quemado Ranger District fire managers are planning to conduct various prescribed fires beginning in mid-December and continuing through May as weather conditions allow. These projects include both broadcast burning and pile burning.
Pile burns will be conducted at the following locations:
- Luna Work Center administrative piles
- Baca Pit, about 2 miles northeast of Quemado Lake, off FR1
- Armijo Springs Campground along FR 4009. This project is approximately 934 acres of machine piles.
The Slaughter Mesa Project is eighteen miles southeast of Quemado and involves both broadcast and pile burning on approximately 3,092 acres. Broadcast burns are prescribed burning activities where fire is applied generally to most or all of an area within well-defined boundaries. Support for this project is provided by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish Big Game Enhancement and Habitat Stamp Improvement Programs, the Wild Turkey Federation, Secure Rural Schools Act and the Natural Resource Conservation Services.
Smoke and flames will be noticeable in these areas during times of ignition and may linger at night and early morning. For firefighter and public safety, fire management officials remind the public to not enter or park near the project areas and to watch for firefighters and equipment in the described locations.
Objectives of these prescribed fires include wildlife habitat restoration and hazardous fuels reduction. Prescribed fire is an effective tool managers use to lower the risk of future severe wildfire. When conditions permit, implementation of the projects will depend on availability of personnel and equipment and New Mexico Environment Department Air Quality Bureau approval. Fire managers follow a burn plan that outlines the “prescription” or environmental conditions such as temperature, wind, fuel moisture, ventilation, and humidity that need to be met before the project begins.
For further information, please contact the Quemado Ranger District 575-773-4678.