A prescribed fire project is planned to begin soon near Jemez Springs.
Fire managers from the Jemez Ranger District plan to begin ignitions on the 1,701-acre North Joaquin prescribed fire project this month. The project area is located approximately six miles west of Jemez Springs and three miles south of Rancho de Chaparral Girl Scout Camp in Sandoval County. The North Joaquin prescribed fire is part of the Chaparral National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) decision with the objective to restore fire dependent ecosystems, protect communities from high severity wildfire, and enhance wildlife habitat.
According to a release from the U.S. Forest Service, “prescribed fires are managed with firefighter and public safety as priority.”
In April 2022, the Cerro Pelado Fire burned over 45,000 acres and destroyed 10 homes and other structures in Sandoval and Los Alamos Counties. Over a year later, the U.S. Forest Service announced that the Cerro Pelado fire “was caused by a holdover fire from the Pino West Piles Prescribed Fire, a debris pile burn.”
Crews for the North Joaquin prescribed fire project are prepping containment lines using natural features, roads and past burned areas. The western boundary of the project area is adjacent to Rito la Cueva Springs Forest Road 534/Forest Road 376 HD and the eastern boundary is Forest Road 376. A final decision to proceed with a prescribed fire on the Santa Fe National Forest depends on agency administrator approval, resource availability, and favorable conditions including fuel moisture levels, air quality and forecast weather.
Fire managers are planning 2-3 days for implementation, using a combination of aerial and hand ignitions. After ignitions are complete, fire crews will move into a strategy of securing and holding the fire within control lines and patrolling the fire area to mitigate the risk of fire spread.
Smoke from the North Joaquin prescribed fire may be visible from Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Bernalillo, Jemez Springs, San Ysidro, Cuba, and the Pueblo of Jemez.