Release Date: November 1, 2021
Contact(s): Eytan Krasilovsky, Forest Stewards Guild
Black Lake, NM - Firefighters from the New Mexico State Land Office the Forest Stewards Guild and The Ember Alliance have been continuing to monitor conditions for a prescribed fire in the Little Coyote Creek area. Currently, they are looking at burning Monday, November 8 through November 12, 2021. Burning may not occur every day as fire managers must meet specific weather conditions in order conduct a prescribed fire. The goal of this prescribed burn is to reduce fuel loading, improve forest health and lessen the impacts from severe wildfires. The burn targets ponderosa pine forests and meadows.
The burn units are located south of Angel Fire, New Mexico. Burn operations could include up to 700 acres near Black Lake. Firefighters successfully burned 500 acres in this area in 2016. Work has been occurring at the project site to prepare for the burn, and fire personnel will be in the area during the month of November to continue that work.
Before managers ignite a prescribed fire, specific conditions called a prescription, must be met. Fire managers carefully monitor these conditions which include: a favorable weather forecast (wind, precipitation, relative humidity), fuel moisture, smoke dispersal conditions and available personnel. Throughout a prescribed fire, weather is monitored. If it falls outside of the required conditions, burning will be stopped until favorable weather returns.
Residents and visitors should expect to see and smell smoke during the burn. Smoke may be visible from as far away as Raton or Taos, NM. The burns will be done in a way to minimize the impact to residents, hunters, and other visitors. Signs will posted to show where work is occurring. Please respect all signs.
Specific burn days will be announced social media on Angel Fire Fire Department’s Facebook page and on Instagram @theemberalliance To be included to the email notification list for this project, please send an email to eytan@forestguild.org with the subject line “Little Coyote Creek.”
Landowners interested in learning more about Fire Adapted Communities can visit: https://facnm.org/
Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. More information about smoke impacts is available at https://nmfireinfo.com/smoke management/