Lincoln National Forest cancels prescribed burn amid unsafe conditions

Aug. 7—Lincoln National Forest officials on Monday morning canceled a prescribed burn after a test burn at the proposed patch of forest uncovered unsafe conditions.

Meanwhile, fire activity led to health alerts and evacuation warnings around the state in recent days.

The cancellation comes at a time when such burns have continued to cause controversy. Three Forest Service burns in 2022 got out of control and caused a massive amount of damage to forests in northern New Mexico.

The Forest Service said in a news release Monday that a prescribed burn on the Smokey Bear Ranger District in the Lincoln National Forest planned for later in the day had been cancelled following an unsuccessful test burn. Forest officials said the test showed fuels burning too quickly, and that it would be unsafe to move forward with the planned burned in an area called the Brazel Push, a 90-acre portion of forest located between Ruidoso and Capitan.

Amanda Fry, a spokeswoman for the national forest, said the prescribed burn was canceled until further notice. She said fuel specialists will continue to monitor conditions.

The federal agency sometimes uses prescribed burns to remove flammable fuels in a closely watched setting. The Forest Service said such actions are necessary for long-term forest health and that clearing built-up fuels and overgrowth lowers the risk of large-scale wildfires in the future.

Despite the cancellation of Monday's burn, forest officials said smoke would still be visible Tuesday along Highway 246 between Ruidoso and Capitan. The West Mountain Fire — a lightning-caused fire that started Aug. 3 — on Sunday was burning about 10 to 15 acres in the area, according to a fire information website.

Last year's large fires that started when the Forest Service lost control of planned burns devastated northern New Mexico. The Cerro Pelado Fire about seven miles east of Jemez Springs burned about 45,000 acres, and the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire complex was the largest wildfire in state history, burning about 341,000 acres outside of Las Vegas.

The Associates Press reported last week that northern New Mexico landowners have so far received more than $14 million in assistance in the wake of the fires. But that's just a fraction of the $4 billion set aside to pay claims resulting from the fire complex over the next five or six years.

New Mexico has seen an uptick in fire activity in recent days.

Northern New Mexico

Hotshot crews and numerous aircraft are responding to a wildfire 44 miles northwest of Santa Fe, which was 2,000 acres by Monday afternoon, according to a news release from the Santa Fe National Forest.

The lightning-caused Black Feather Fire started Saturday in the San Pedro Parks Wilderness of the Coyote Ranger District, according to the release. Air tankers, helicopters and hotshot crews are among the resources being used to fight the blaze.

The Mesa del Poleo and Mesa Pinebetal communities have been put under a SET evacuation status, according to the Rio Arriba County Sheriff's Office. That means they should be prepared to be told to evacuate.

An evacuation center is being set up at the Coyote Senior Center. And the sheriff's office early Monday planned to establish a command center at the rural events center off State Road 554.

Plastic facility flame

A Sunday fire at the Atkore United Poly Systems facility on the 5300 block of Hawking SE, which is south of the Albuquerque International Sunport, sent a massive plume of black smoke into the sky, which officials warned could be toxic.

No employees were injured during the fire, which happened in an exterior yard on the company's property, said Lisa Winter, a spokeswoman for the company. She didn't say Monday what will happen to operations and employees at the Albuquerque facility.

The fire broke out at the plastics storage facility shortly before 3 p.m. It took firefighters about four hours to get control of the fire, said Albuquerque Fire Rescue Lt. Jason Fejer. He said the fire was primarily burning High Density Polyethylene pipes, conduit, and recycling materials that were onsite at the business location.

The cause of the fire hasn't been released.

"The health and safety of our employees and the local community are our primary concern," Winter said in a statement. "We are currently assessing the situation, and are cooperating with the appropriate authorities including regarding determining the cause of the fire."

Air quality

Because of the source of the flames, city and county officials issued an air quality alert Sunday evening through Monday morning. The city has since said that the air was safe.

On Monday, the New Mexico Department of Health issued guidance to address smoke spreading across the state.

"Amid the current fire-induced challenges, the health and well-being of our residents remain our top priority," said Heidi Krapfl, the deputy director of the DOH Epidemiology and Response Division.

Celerah Hewes, a Moms Clean Air Force national field manager and Albuquerque resident, said in a news release that she remained concerned.

"I remain concerned for myself, my family, and our neighbors. The two-alarm fire at a plastic storage facility south of Albuquerque created unsafe, dirty air for our community," she said in a statement. "While the plumes of black smoke filling the sky were alarming, the threat of breathing hazardous air from burning plastic is even more concerning. Plastics are toxic when they burn, which is why the city issued a health alert and said that 'everyone should limit outdoor activity.' "

The Health Department is advising people to monitor air quality alerts across the country at AirNow.gov.

Additionally, the department published some guidance at nmtracking.org/environment/air/FireAndSmoke.html.

The guidance essentially says that if visibility is one mile or less, everyone should stay inside. If visibility is three miles or less, older adults and younger children and people with pre-existing conditions should stay inside and others should limit outdoor activity.

If visibility is around five miles, older adults, younger children and other people with health conditions should minimize outdoor activity.