Mt. Taylor Ranger District to Implement Redondo Prescribed Fire – Sawyer Block

Grants, NM – May 29, 2023 – Fire Managers on the Cibola National Forest & National Grasslands (NF & NGs) plan to conduct previously announced prescribed fire operations on the Mt. Taylor Ranger District. Ignitions are planned to start as early as Mon. May 29 and continue thru Wed. May 31.

Ignition will depend upon agency administrator approval and conditions within the ranges outlined in the prescribed fire plan. Optimal conditions will result in effective smoke ventilation and dispersal and help achieve the desired effects needed to accomplish the burn plan objectives.

Crews are preparing for burning on: Mount Taylor Ranger District: Redondo RX Fire - Sawyer Block: 705 acres on the Sawyer unit located 3 miles west of Post Office Flats on Forest Road (FR) 480 in the Zuni Mountains. Smoke may be visible in the surrounding area of Ramah, Gallup, Thoreau, Bluewater, Grants and Millan. See Map.

Our land management strategy is centered on long-term forest health, including reducing forest fuels and using prescribed fire on the landscape. Prescribed fires are intended to reduce hazardous fuels that have accumulated due to drought, climate change, insects and disease, and decades of fire suppression.

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. Smoke may settle into drainages and lower elevations at night, but is expected to dissipate by late morning, as daytime temperatures increase. Information on air quality and protecting your health can be found online at the www.airnow.gov/ Implementation announcements and updates on prescribed fire projects will be posted on InciWeb, New Mexico Fire Information and on the Cibola NF & NGs website, Cibola Facebook and Cibola Twitter sites.

Mt. Taylor District Office: 505-287-8833