Coyote Ranger District Plans Prescribed Burn This Week

Forest Service News

Santa Fe, NM – For Immediate Release.   Fire managers on the Coyote Ranger District, Santa Fe National Forest, hope to take advantage of favorable conditions, including fuel moisture levels, air quality and forecasted weather, to conduct one of three previously announced prescribed burns as early as tomorrow, May 31.

Fire managers are looking at the 5,041-acre French Mesa treatment area located approximately 10 miles north of Gallina as their first target.  If conditions aren’t optimal for French Mesa, fire mangers may move their sights to the Gallina Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) treatment area, 500 acres located 1 mile south of Gallina off of NM Highway 96, or the Mesa Poleo unit, 300 acres of hazardous fuels located 1.5 miles southwest of the community of Mesa Poleo and 3 miles southwest of Coyote.

Prescribed fires are one of the most effective tools available to resource managers for restoring fire-adapted ecosystems.  These fires mimic natural fires by reducing forest fuels, recycling nutrients and increasing habitat diversity.  Prescribed fires are managed with firefighter and public safety as the first priority.

Smoke from the prescribed burn will be monitored to ensure that the New Mexico Environment Department’s Air Quality Bureau regulations are being met.  Depending on which unit fire managers select, smoke will likely be visible from Gallina, Coyote, Lindrith, Regina, Llaves, La Jara, Youngsville, Ghost Ranch, Cañones, Rio Chama, the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, Abiquiu, Canjilon, NM 96 and US 84.

Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures. Information on air quality and protecting your health can be found online at the New Mexico Department of Health’s website at https://nmtracking.org/fire.