BLM plans prescribed fire in Cibola County
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Beginning Aug. 21–Sept. 30, the Bureau of Land Management Rio Puerco Field Office plans to conduct a prescribed burn on approximately 1,800 acres within the El Malpais National Conservation Area (NCA), weather permitting. Fire managers estimate it will take several periods of approximately two to four days to complete the project, although smoke may be visible for longer. The prescribed fire is being done in cooperation with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.
The project location is approximately 40 miles southeast of Grants, N.M., in the Cebolla Canyon area east of State Highway 117 and north of the Wild Horse Fire Station in the community of Wild Horse. Smoke may be visible from Interstate 40 and State Highways 53 and 117.
This work continues the second phase of a multi-year forest restoration project on the Cebolla Canyon portion of the NCA. The goal is to improve ecological health of ponderosa pine forests and open up grassy meadows that have become choked with piñon and juniper trees and dense stands of ponderosa pine.
For additional information about this project, please contact Assistant Fire Management Officer Zach Saavedra at 505-761-8963 or Lino R. Baca at 575-835-0412. For information about this, and other prescribed burn operations, as well as wildland fire updates, please visit www.nmfireinfo.com, on Twitter @nmfireinfo or on Facebook.com/nmfireinfo.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.