Santa Fe National Forest imposes Stage II fire restrictions through September

Santa Fe National Forest has put Stage II fire restrictions across every National Forest System land, road and trail inside the forest boundary, cutting off campfires, charcoal fires, coal fires and wood-stove fires through Sept. 30. For a camping weekend, a trailhead stop or a dispersed van setup, that means the easy stuff is gone first: no open flame for dinner, no roadside burn pile and no casual smoke break where dry fuels are close by.

The order, #03-10-00-26-06, was signed and issued June 26 and superseded Stage I order #03-10-00-26-03. It covers Sandoval, Rio Arriba, Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Mora and San Miguel counties, and is in place to protect public health and safety during elevated fire danger.

The restrictions are tight where travelers feel them most. Smoking is limited to enclosed vehicles or buildings, developed recreation sites or spots cleared of all flammable material within a three-foot circle. Off-road vehicle use is restricted unless it is only for parking in an area devoid of vegetation within 10 feet of the roadway. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., welding, open-flame torches, generators, chainsaws and other internal-combustion equipment are banned, along with blasting or explosives unless a special authorization applies. The routine exemptions are narrow, covering LPG devices used in barren cleared areas, official rescue or firefighting activity and specific permit-based uses recognized by the Forest Service.

The McCauley Springs Fire on the Jemez Ranger District was detected June 24 east of Battleship Rock and had grown from 30 acres that day to 327 acres on June 25 and 716 acres on June 28. Containment was 0% on June 25 and 25% on June 28. Sierra de los Pinos went into GO evacuation status, Jemez Falls Campground and Battleship Campground were closed, Trail #137 to Battleship Rock was shut, and a temporary area closure order was issued for the fire area.

Red Flag Warnings were in effect for the Santa Fe area on June 27 and June 28, and critical wildfire conditions covered the Southwest. New Mexico’s statewide fire restrictions on non-federal, non-Tribal and non-municipal lands were also in place.