CIBOLA COUNTY Experiencing the 31st wettest April on record, the drought situation in Cibola has shown slight changes since March. The percentage of land under drought remains relatively stable, but there has been a slight decrease in the number of people affected by drought.
In early March government sources the Cibola Citizen uses to gather data for drought reports suffered a massive outage. The government spent weeks cleaning up their data, much of what they have provided for March and April appears to be the same data. The newspaper has been working with our government sources to ensure the accuracy of this data.
A total of 2,470 people in Cibola County were affected by drought in April, which represents 9.1 percent of the county’s population. This marks a decrease of 1.6 percent since last month, indicating a slight improvement in drought conditions for the population.
According to the National Drought Information System, April was the 31st wettest on record over the past 130 years for the Cibola area, with an increase of 0.13 inches from normal. Year-to-date (January-April 2024), it has been the 16th wettest period over the past 130 years, with an increase of 1.43 inches from normal.
Drought Across Cibola in April
The U.S. Drought Monitor classifies the severity of drought using five categories, ranging from the least severe designation, 'Abnormally Dry' (D0), to the most severe, 'Exceptional Drought' (D4).
• Abnormally Dry (D0) - 57.84 percent of Cibola is affected, showing a slight increase from March when 57.60 percent of the county was affected.
• Moderate Drought (D1) – 9.08 percent of Cibola is affected, a minor decrease from March when 9.23 percent of the county was affected.
• Severe Drought (D2) – 0 percent of the county is affected, continuing from March and previous months, where no areas were recorded.
• Extreme Drought (D3) - No areas recorded, the same as in March and previous months.
• Exceptional Drought (D4) - No areas recorded, the same as in March and previous months.
In April, 448 acres of hay were found to be in drought, the same as in March. The acreage of haylage remained constant at 30 acres, showing no change from the previous month. This stability in drought-affected hay acreage indicates that conditions for these agricultural resources have not worsened over the past month.
Effecting livestock, 10,281 cattle and 3,026 sheep were found to be in drought during April. This is the same number of livestock affected as in March, indicating no change in the situation for Cibola’s livestock. Prescribed Burn
The National Park Service announced it is currently conducting a prescribed fire on the north side of El Malpais National Monument, tentatively scheduled to continue through late May and early June 2024.
NPS said the El Calderon Triangle prescribed fire will treat approximately 1,500 acres of NPS lands adjacent to Highway 53 between mile markers 66 and 63. Exact dates and times will be determined based on weather and fuel conditions, with the prescribed fire expected to take two to five days to complete.
NPS announced their primary objective of this prescribed fire is to improve Ponderosa Pine and Pinyonjuniper ecosystems by reducing the build-up of vegetation that can fuel a wildfire. In an email, the organization said fire plays a natural role at El Malpais and helps ensure the resiliency of this fire-dependent ecosystem.
During the prescribed fire operations, the Continental Divide Trail from the Emergency Operations Center to the El Calderon parking area (mile marker 497 to 500) will be closed. Detour signs will be posted on the trail to bypass the fire area. Additionally, parts of the El Calderon Loop Trail will be closed. If conditions warrant, Highway 53 may be reduced to one-lane traffic to ensure firefighter safety. Motorists are asked to slow down, turn on headlights, and watch for firefighters working along the highway.
Smoke will be most visible on days when burning occurs, mostly during the warmest part of the day. With cooler temperatures in the evening, smoke may linger in low-lying areas. Flames may be visible as fire consumes larger dead and down fuels. Smoke and flames can persist for several days after active ignitions are complete.
For questions about the prescribed fire, locals are encouraged to call the El Malpais National Monument Visitor Center at (505) 8762783. Fire information will also be available on the El Malpais National Monument Facebook page and nmfireinfo.com. Learn more about what’s involved in planning and implementing a prescribed fire at nps.gov.
In their press release about the fire, NPS said they would be handling the prescribed burn with drought safe practices.
Where Does this Data Come From?
The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) is a tool used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which has been tracking drought in the Cibola area since 2006. They use historical data and environmental sampling to get a drought reading on years prior, extending back to 1894, providing 300 years of data.
Much of the data used by the Cibola Citizen comes from NIDIS, NOAA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). These entities supply data for Cibola’s acreage of hay, the number of livestock, and the population affected by drought.