My friends let us be on our knees and praying constantly for rain in New Mexico. Pray with us here at FGGAM everyday at Noon for rain.
The Pecos Wilderness will be closed to visitors beginning Wednesday so that forest officials can focus resources on wildfires in the area.
Santa Fe National Forest public information officer Dolores Maese said that officials decided Tuesday morning to shut off the Pecos/San Miguel Ranger District area and the wilderness area the following day.
“They will be going into a closure just because the fire activity that affects so much of that district,” she said.
That district and the Jemez Ranger District will also move into Stage 2 fire restrictions on Wednesday, which means no campfires are allowed, even at developed campgrounds with fire rings. Fireworks are already prohibited in the national forest.
Even though the Tres Lagunas Fire is miles from Santa Fe, the closure means the trailheads heading north from the Santa Fe ski basin, including the Winsor Trail, will be inaccessible at the Pecos Wilderness boundary, she said.
“If somebody gets in there or there should be any kind of problem, search and rescue might be hampered because of fire stuff,” Maese said. “We are just taking precautions because of public safety.”
Also beginning Wednesday, the Bureau of Land Management is prohibiting open campfires, charcoal or wood stoves on lands managed by the Farmington and Taos Field Offices, except within developed recreation sites. Smoking is banned except inside a vehicle, building, developed recreation site or within a cleared area 3 feet in diameter. Motor vehicles will be prohibited from going off road except to park within 10 feet of a roadway in an area clear of vegetation. Fireworks also are banned.
Violations are punishable by up to a $1,000 fine or up to a year in jail.
The U.S. Forest Service, New Mexico State Forestry, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Northern Pueblos Agency have similar, coordinated restrictions for lands in Northern New Mexico.
A list of restrictions for state and private land is available at nmfireinfo.com.
