Forest Service News Release
Media Contact: Ivan Knudsen
Email: CarsonPAO@usda.gov
Website: www.fs.usda.gov/carson
Online News Release: https://wp.me/puHKG-5Qv
Fire Managers Proceed with Prescribed Burn on the New Mexico-Colorado State Line
TAOS, NM – May 27, 2021 — Fire managers on the Carson National Forest are conducting a prescribed burn approximately 20 miles northwest of Tres Piedras, New Mexico, on the New Mexico-Colorado border, Thurs. May 27 through Sat. May 29. The Stateline/Bighorn Unit 6 prescribed burn is being managed by the Carson National Forest in cooperation with the San Luis Valley Interagency Fire Management Unit and the Rio Grande National Forest in southern Colorado.
On the New Mexico side, fire crews will treat approximately 216 acres of previously thinned land on the Tres Piedras Ranger District of the Carson National Forest. Crews on the Rio Grande National Forest in Colorado will simultaneously treat approximately 654 acres, for a total of 870 acres in both states. This prescribed fire will improve elk and deer winter range and reduce woody debris left from forest thinning projects. This collaboration across two Forest Service regions, two states and two national forests is the result of years of planning across boundaries to achieve landscape scale forest restoration more effectively.
After ignitions begin, smoke may be visible from the communities of Mogote, Antonito, Conejos and San Antonio, Colorado, as well as Chama, New Mexico. The Carson National Forest manages prescribed fires in compliance with New Mexico state regulations on air quality and smoke management. Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures. Information on air quality and protecting your health can be found online at the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) website.
Prescribed fire is part of a science-based framework for managing ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer forests – like the Carson National Forest – to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire and allow low-intensity fire to play its natural role in a frequent-fire ecosystem.
Fire updates will be posted on the Carson National Forest website, New Mexico Fire Information website and on the Carson National Forest Facebook and Twitter pages.
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