Updated 7:30am 6/4
PECOS – More than 900 firefighters were racing against increasing winds and dropping humidity levels Monday as they fought to contain two wildfires raging in the northern New Mexico mountains.
In the Santa Fe National Forest, the Tres Lagunas blaze had burned more than 12 1/2 square miles by midday Monday, and firefighters were working to protect a group of homes in the Holy Ghost Canyon and prevent the fire from spreading east where it could endanger a river watershed that supplies the city of Las Vegas.
Some 140 homes, mostly cabins and summer residences, have been evacuated since late last week and officials said the fire was too unpredictable to say when the evacuees would be allowed to go home.
To the west, the Thompson Ridge fire near Jemez Springs remained at nearly 3 square miles. And 40 to 50 homes were still evacuated as the crews battling that blaze faced similar weather conditions.
Tres Lagunas incident commander John Pierson said firefighters had set up a sprinkler system to moisten the area around a group of summer homes in the Holy Ghost Canyon. They were also working on a fire line on the ridge above that canyon. Because the ridge is very steep, he said should the flames make a sudden leap down the canyon the only protection would be the sprinkler system connected to a nearby stream that has been dousing the area for about 48 hours.
The Thompson Ridge Fire continues to burn in the Jemez Mountains, photographed Monday June 3, 2013. (Pat Vasquez-Cunningham/Journal)
Pierson said officials also were concerned that winds blowing from the south and southwest would move westerly with gusts up to 34 mph and blow embers to the east, potentially spreading the blaze to the watershed of the Gallinas River, a main source of drinking water for Las Vegas, a community with a population of more than 13,000. A severe fire in the heavily timbered watershed could increase the potential for damaging erosion when rains and runoff come later, increasing sediment in the river.
Should the fire go the other direction, it could impact the watershed that supplies the nearby state capital of Santa Fe.
“We believe at this time the watersheds are in good shape,” Gov. Susana Martinez said at a midday briefing. “But it’s day-to-day. Everything changes.”
Officials said they would likely hold a community meeting in Las Vegas today.
No structures have been burned in the Tres Lagunas blaze, which was just 5 percent contained Monday, but the fire on ridges above the canyon was within a mile of homes.
Both fires were sparked late last week by downed power lines.
As of Monday, officials said 65 percent of the land burned in the Tres Lagunas blaze was Forest Service land, 35 percent state land and 1 percent private.
About 600 firefighters were battling the blaze. On Sunday, with lower winds, they were able to dump 49,000 gallons of water on the fire. Another 300 firefighters were in the Jemez, where one structure was partially damaged.
Updated 6/3 3:28pm
PECOS — More than 900 firefighters were racing against increasing winds and dropping humidity levels Monday as they fought to contain two wildfires raging in the northern New Mexico mountains.
In the Santa Fe National Forest, the Tres Lagunas blaze had burned more than 12½ square miles by midday Monday, and firefighters were working to protect a group of homes in the Holy Ghost Canyon and prevent the fire from spreading east, where ash and runoff could endanger the city of Las Vegas’ watershed.
Some 140 homes, mostly cabins and summer residences, have been evacuated since late last week, and officials said the fire was too unpredictable to say when the evacuees would be allowed to go home.
To the west, the Thompson Ridge Fire near Jemez Springs remained at nearly 3 square miles. And 40 to 50 homes remained evacuated as the crews battling that blaze faced similar weather condition.
Tres Lagunas incident commander John Pierson said firefighters had set up a sprinkler system to moisten the area around a group of summer homes in the Holy Ghost Canyon. They were also working on a fire line on the ridge above that canyon. Because the ridge is very steep, he said that should the flames make a sudden leap down the canyon, the only protection would be the sprinkler system connected to a nearby stream that has been dousing the area for about 48 hours.
Pierson said officials also were concerned that winds blowing from the south and southwest would move westerly with gusts up to 34 mph and blow embers to the east, potentially spreading the blaze to areas where ash and runoff would contaminate the water supply for Las Vegas. Should the fire go the other direction, it could impact the watershed that supplies Santa Fe.
“We believe at this time the watersheds are in good shape,” Gov. Susana Martinez said at a midday briefing. “But it’s day-to-day. Everything changes.”
Officials said they would likely hold a community meeting in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
“If we would get a heavy contamination with ash, it could take a year to five years before we could clear that out,” Las Vegas Mayor of Alfonso Ortiz Jr. said.
No structures had been burned in the Tres Lagunas blaze, which was just 5 percent contained Monday, but the fire on ridges above the canyon was within a mile of homes.
Both fires were sparked late last week by power lines.
As of Monday, officials said 65 percent of the land burned in the Tres Lagunas blaze was forest service land, 35 percent state land and 1 percent private.
About 600 firefighters were battling the blaze. On Sunday, with lower winds, they were able to dump 49,000 gallons of water on the fire.
Another 300 firefighters were in the Jemez, where one structure was partially damaged.
Updated 6/3 6:22am
Some cooler weather and calmer winds spelled a little relief for the Tres Lagunas Fire near Pecos, which by Sunday night had grown to 7,500 acres.
One minor injury to a firefighter was reported, and voluntary evacuations added to mandatory ones from the fire that started Thursday with a downed power line. As of Sunday, it was 5 percent contained.
“It was cooler, and the winds weren’t as high as they had been in the past few days, so they made some good progress,” said Iris Estes, spokeswoman for the Santa Fe National Forest.
One firefighter injured his foot but was able to walk away unassisted, she said. Hotshot crews from Zia Pueblo, Silver City and Red River were on the scene, as well as firefighters from the Mescalaro Apache tribe.
At least six to 10 primary residences and 134 summer homes had been evacuated along Highway 63 north of Pecos.
Additionally, residents of 225 homes in Cow Creek and Bull Creek areas are being asked to leave voluntarily, Estes said.
Meanwhile, the Thompson Ridge Fire near Jemez Springs was 5 percent contained Sunday night, with 1,906 burned acres, according to Terry McDermott, spokesman for the Valles Caldera Trust, based in Jemez Springs.
“We do have crews on the line tonight, monitoring the fire overnight,” he said.
“The sun is down; it’s not as hot out there. The humidity is a little higher from the front that came in,” he said. Because of the difficult-to-navigate terrain, a larger team of firefighters got involved Sunday morning.
“We have one of the best teams in the business,” McDermott said of the Arizona Central West Zone Incident Management Team, which took over after it was determined on Friday that a more aggressive approach was needed.
“It became apparent that the fire was going into terrain that was much more complex, some deep canyons and some high peaks, including Redondo Peak, so you need more personnel, different attack groups,” he said.
Also on Sunday, lightning strikes in the Manzano Mountains started some “fairly small” fires that also received some rain, according to the multi-agency website nmfireinfo.com. Crews from the Mountainair Ranger District and Torrance County volunteers responded.
Report from the Santa Fe Newmexican
Written by Chris Quintana
The Tres Lagunas Fire in Pecos Canyon had grown to 7,476 acres as of 10 a.m. today and was still zero percent contained. So far, none of the 245 residences threatened have burned.
A storm front moving in is expected to bring some welcome humidity but could also bring lightning and winds that will prompt some erratic fire behavior, according to fire information officer Denise Ottaviano.
Volunteers at Desert Academy, 7300 Old Santa Fe Trail, are accepting donations of food and batteries for volunteer firefighters helping fight the Tres Lagunas fire in the Pecos Canyon. They need beef jerky, tuna in cans with pull tabs, energy bars, wet wipes, and AA and AAA batteries. They will be accepting donations today until at least 11:30 a.m.
The San Miguel Sheriff’s Posse – Pecos Rodeo Grounds has been set up to care for pets and livestock, but so far there have been no takers, according to spokesman Gene Garcia. “I’ve had a lot of calls from people with livestock in the Cow Creek area,” Garcia said. The arena has plenty of livestock feed and water at the moment, he added.
The fire grew Saturday but slowed its rate of consumption.
The fire, which officials believe was sparked Thursday by a downed power line, had grown to 6,200 acres by Saturday afternoon, said Denise Ottaviano, an information officer with the Type 2 Incident Management Team in charge of the firefighting effort.
Ottaviano said the wind had eased in the area, which allowed helicopters to drop water and air tankers to drop fire retardant on the blaze along N.M. 63. A bulldozer team also created a fire line north of the blaze. As of Saturday afternoon, 411 people were battling the blaze.
“Considering the weather, terrain and how dry it is, we have made good progress today,” Ottaviano said.
No structures have been burned, and no injuries have been reported. Ottaviano said the structures near the fire are still in danger, so an evacuation order issued Friday will remain in place. She said she didn’t think other areas would need to be evacuated, but that could change, depending on the weather.
“People need to be aware that it could happen,” she said. “It’s hard to predict what the weather is going to do.”
The Red Cross has set up a shelter at Pecos High School. Thus far, about 134 summer homes, 10 campgrounds, six trailheads and other private residences along N.M. 63 have been evacuated between the communities of Tres Lagunas and El Macho.
The fire is still spreading to the east and northeast, but it has bumped against the 2000 Viveash Fire scar. Ottaviano said the fire scar area still has fuel, but it’s on the ground, which would make the blaze easier to control.
She also said winds in the area might be weaker Sunday, and that there might be a chance of rain. However, storms could bring erratic wind and lightning strikes, both of which would be detrimental to firefighting efforts.
The National Weather Service forecast a 60 percent chance of precipitation in the area for Sunday, along with a high temperature near 74 degrees and winds in the 10 to 15 mph range.
Meanwhile, the Thompson Fire, which was burning in the Jemez Mountains near the western edge of the Valles Caldera National Preserve, had burned 1,200 acres as of Saturday afternoon.
Peter D’Aquanni, a public information officer with the U.S. Forest Service, said crews were still arriving to help out with the burn. A news release from the Forest Service on Saturday afternoon stated that about 216 people were fighting the blaze. The same release said that a Type 2 Incident Management Team from Arizona would take over the fire at 6 a.m. Sunday.
“The bottom line is, we’re in the very beginning stages of the fire,” D’Aquanni said.
He also said winds were negligible compared to Friday’s gusts, but the abundance of dry fuel helped keep the blaze going. As for Sunday, the National Weather Service forecast a 40 percent chance of rain in the Jemez Springs area, along with 15 mph winds and a high near 81 degrees.
Crews also had made progress on the fire’s northern front and planned to spend Saturday night working on the fire’s southern section.
A tree touching a power line apparently sparked the Thompson Fire on Friday. The fire started on private land about 10 miles north of Jemez Springs, but the majority of it has burned land in the Valles Caldera. One structure was damaged by the fire but quickly extinguished, and no injuries have been reported.
A voluntary evacuation order was issued for about 40 to 50 homes near the area. D’Aquanni said the fire, as of Saturday afternoon, wasn’t heading toward other structures, so no more evacuations would be required.
“Everything is good so far — other than the fact that the forest is burning,” D’Aquanni said.
The smoke cast by the two fires prompted the Southwest Coordination Center, a group that monitors wildfires, to issue a smoke warning for the Santa Fe area Saturday. The warning called for those with health conditions to remain indoors, while everyone else should minimize time spent outside. Updates about smoke conditions can be found at 1.usa.gov/K7zHlF.
The U.S. Forest Service reported a smaller fire Saturday northwest of Las Vegas, N.M., and about a mile west of Wright Canyon. The Calf Fire’s cause was unknown as of 4:30 p.m. Saturday, but it had only burned half an acre before two large tankers and two single-engine air tankers contained the blaze in an air attack.
Click here for more information on New Mexico Wildfires https://nmfireinfo.com/2013/05/31/tres-lagunas-morning-update/
Contact Chris Quintana at 986-3093 or cquintana@sfnewmexican.com.
