RX Burn to be Near Post Office Flats in Zuni Mountains
ZUNI MOUNTAINS, N.M. – The US Forest Service has announced a series of prescribed burns in the Cibola National Forest. Some of the prescribed burns will take place in the Zuni Mountains of Cibola County.
The Cibola National Forest is massive, spanning 1,562,542 acres – that’s 1.5 million acres. The administrative space of the Cibola National Forest spans New Mexico, northwest Texas, and western Oklahoma. The forest is administered by the US Forest Service, who wrote in a press release that their work is to keep the land preserved for future generations, while making sure that invasive species don’t impact the lands too adversely. Part of their work in protecting the forests includes the need for prescribed burns – also called RX burns – to make sure that there isn’t too much fuel in the event of a wildfire. The work done by the forest service is about forest preservation, and protecting communities that surround the forest from fires.
Where will the burn be?
No date has been set for the prescribed burns yet, but the Forest Service is letting residents know of their plans ahead of time.
The prescribed burns will take place in the Zuni Mountains of Cibola County, in the Mount Taylor Ranger District. Both burns will impact the Copperton and Sawyer Blocks of the forest.
The Forest Service expects to burn 1,728 acres on the Copperton Block, and 663 acres in the Sawyer Block, approximately three miles west of Post Office Flats on Forest Road 480.
Smoke may be visible in Ramah, Thoreau, Bluewater, Grants, Milan and Gallup.
The Forest Service will be doing other prescribed burns in the forest this year, including in: Sandia Ranger District (near Albuquerque, Tijeras, and Edgewood, N.M.); Magdalena Ranger District (near Magdalena, Alamo, and Datil, N.M.); Black Kettle National Grassland Ranger District (Oklahoma); Kiowa Rita Blanca National Grasslands Ranger District (near Clayton, N.M.)
Why do we need the RX burn?
Prescribed burns are important to the health of the forest. “Prescribed fires are utilized to remove hazardous fuels, return nutrients to the soil and improve forest health. Fuels specialists write prescribed burn plans that identify – or prescribe – the best conditions under which trees and other plants will burn to get the best results safely. Burn plans consider temperature, humidity, wind, moisture of the vegetation and conditions for dispersal smoke,” the Forest Service said in a press release.
The Forest Service is using a plan that focuses on the long-term health of the forest. Keeping the forest healthy means eliminating brush and weeds that could be used to help a wildfire expand; without these fuels the forest is more likely to thrive as it won’t have to compete with a potentially disastrous fire which would eliminate plant life in the forest. “A healthy forest is a resilient forest that undergoes fire occurrences on a regular basis. After prescribed fire is completed, if a future wildfire reaches this area, the fire behavior will likely be modified to a less intense, more manageable surface fire due to the absence of accumulated debris and ladder fuels.”
The Forest Service even has plans to deal with smoke that will come from these prescribed burns. The press release reads, “With fire there is smoke, but firefighters take measures to reduce smoke impacts as much as possible. Fire crews use tactics such as starting early in the day and ending ignitions early in the afternoon to allow for the most ventilation possible throughout the burn and dividing blocks into smaller units to minimize smoke impacts as much as possible. However, smoke may be visible periodically from local communities for the duration of the project until the burning vegetation is out. Information on air quality and protecting your health can be found online at the www.airnow.gov/”