McCauley Springs Fire closes Jemez Mountains campgrounds, forces evacuations

The McCauley Springs Fire shut down the Battleship Rock corridor in the Jemez Mountains, closing Jemez Falls Campground, Battleship Campground, Redondo Campground and Trail #137 while Sierra de los Pinos was placed in Go status and evacuated. The fire was first detected on June 24 near Battleship Rock on the Jemez Ranger District, and smoke was visible from Albuquerque, U.S. 550, Jemez Springs and nearby communities.

By June 25, the fire had grown from about 30 acres to 327 acres and remained 0% contained. Incident Commander Luke McLarty was leading the Northern New Mexico Type 3 Incident Management Team, and a Complex Incident Management Team was ordered to take over that day as crews pushed full suppression with helicopters, engines, dozers and airtankers. The response also included the Sacramento Interagency Hotshot Crew, the Blue Ridge Interagency Hotshot Crew, the Santa Fe Interagency Hotshot Crew and the Wolf Creek Interagency Hotshot Crew.

The travel restrictions were then put into formal order. The temporary closure took effect at 8 a.m. June 26 and was scheduled to run through 8 a.m. July 11 unless rescinded. It barred going into or being upon the area, being on any road and being on any trail within the described Jemez Ranger District lands, with limited exceptions for authorized personnel, permit holders and landowners crossing National Forest System lands to reach private property. The same morning update kept Highway 4 closed between mile markers 27 and 40, with Battleship Rock Campground, Jemez Falls Campground, Redondo Campground and Trail #137 still off-limits.

For anyone planning a summer loop through Battleship Rock, Jemez Falls or the Highway 4 campground corridor, the trip is effectively off the table until the closure lifts. The evacuation centers were set at Jemez Mountain Baptist Church in La Cueva and the Jemez Valley Senior Center at 8154 Highway 4, giving displaced campers and nearby residents a place to go while crews held the line.

Battleship Rock sits where San Antonio Creek and the East Fork Jemez River meet before flowing toward the Rio Grande, a watershed that supplies water and irrigation to more than 6 million people. That makes the shutdown more than a campground headache, because the same narrow corridor that draws hikers and campers is now tied up by evacuation, road closure and fireline work all at once.