The U.S. Forest Service has had a busy fall, managing multiple prescribed burns across central and northern Taos County. The cold, wet, and calm environment provides perfect conditions for prescribed burns.
A burn is prescribed near Highway 150 in the Valle Vidal. Due to the unpredictability of weather patterns in New Mexico, the U.S. Forest Service doesn’t have an exact timeframe for the burn.
“After a productive month of understory burning, we’re looking forward to continuing this critical work by taking advantage of snow for a different kind of prescribed fire,” said Fuels and Fire Staff Officer Brent Davidson. “We seek winter weather for pile burning because the dampened or snow-covered forest floor reduces the chances of fire creeping away.”
A full list of all potential prescribed fires this fall and winter as well as current forest restoration conditions are available on the Carson National Forest website at fs.usda.gov/goto/CarsonRx.
The forest restoration work is part of the Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy to reduce the threat of wildfire to communities, critical infrastructure, and natural resources.
The projects are part of larger landscape efforts:
- The Enchanted Circle on the east side of the forest, where high-risk firesheds are found, is one of the 21 priority landscapes in the nation.
- The Rio Chama Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project on the west side is a priority within the southwest, protecting forest communities and increasing the health of the watershed, which serves millions of people downstream.
