Updated Oct. 7 at 12 p.m.
Carson National Forest fire crews remain on track for several upcoming prescribed fires, including the Sotano Prescribed Fire near El Rito and Vallecitos in Rio Arriba County, which began Monday (Oct. 7) at around 9:15 a.m.
According to Zach Behrens, public affairs officer for Carson National Forest, the Sotano Prescribed Fire is expected to last two to four days and will treat 2,366 acres. Smoke could be visible and drift into farther out communities, like the Taos area, this evening.
The La Jara and Apache Prescribed Fire is expected to begin Tuesday morning (Oct. 8).
“Ignitions will begin on the La Jara Unit adjacent to Taos Pines and north of Highway 64,” Behrens said in an update given on Monday (Oct. 7). “Fire managers are coordinating with leadership from Taos Pines homeowners association and Firewise committee, NMDOT and the Pueblo of Taos. On future days, they will move to the southern Apache unit, which is south of Hwy. 64.”
Each prescribed fires’ start date is subject to change and will depend on weather, wind and “fuel moisture conditions,” according to the Forest Service. The Mesa Juan Domingo Prescribed Fire, which will treat 2,034 acres near Canjilon and Placita Garcia, has been rescheduled from starting on Wednesday (Oct. 9) to Thursday (Oct. 10).
“The optimal conditions to burn these fuels are a balance, when the ground and fuels are not too wet and not too dry,” Behrens said. “Fire managers must find those conditions while matching it with weather and other prescription parameters, such as forecasted smoke dispersal.”
Crews will also continue to patrol and monitor the American Creek Prescribed Fire, in which 950 acres were treated last week near Tres Piedras. The 1,000-acre American Creek Prescribed Unit is part of the Rio Tusas-Lower San Antonio Landscape project, which seeks to restore the health of the forest throughout nearly half of the Tres Piedras Ranger District.
Crews applied hand and aerial ignitions to that burn site, according to the Forest Service. In a method called “blacklining,” hand ignitions are used on the perimeter of the prescribed burn site. Crew members use drip torches to burn fuels along a “predetermined control line,” which comprises existing roads and lines dug by hand crews and dozers.
Aerial ignitions, on the other hand, utilize a device called a plastic sphere dispenser.
“Aerial ignitions are used for burning interior areas of the unit’s perimeter,” said Behrens, “in which an operator aboard a helicopter releases plastic balls filled with glycol that ignite after hitting the ground.”
The American Creek, Sotano, La Jara and Apache, and Mesa Juan Domingo prescribed fires are all “understory burns,” according to Behrens.
“Each of these fires are understory burns, which mimics fire’s natural role in vegetation communities where it is frequent and low intensity,” Behrens said. “Crews apply fire broadly throughout an area under the forest canopy where grasses, leaf litter, fallen and dried pine needles, downed branches, brush and occasional single or clusters of trees are burned.
Prescribed burns are a critical part of preventing wildfires. By clearing fallen trees, dead leaves and overgrowth, excess fuel for flames is eliminated. Burning old vegetation returns nutrients to the soil that would otherwise take years to fully decompose, improving the health of the forest.
“Over the last century, forested areas have departed from conditions suitable for a healthy and vibrant ecosystem,” Behrens said. “This is especially true in frequent fire forest types, such as ponderosa and dry mixed conifer, where stands are unnaturally dense and lacking recent fire history. If a future wildfire reaches the area after prescribed fire treatments are completed, the fire behavior will likely be modified to a less intense, more manageable surface fire.”
For more information about planned prescribed burn fires, visit fs.usda.gov/detail/carson/fire/?cid=fseprd1205809. Operational updates for prescribed fires will be posted on Inciweb at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/.
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