Bandelier, Valles Caldera enter Stage II fire restrictions amid wildfire risk

Campfires, charcoal grills and coal or wood stoves are now off limits on Bandelier National Monument, Valles Caldera National Preserve and two other northern New Mexico parks as Stage II fire restrictions take hold across the region. The order also bars smoking except inside enclosed vehicles or buildings, welding and open-flame torch work, off-road use of internal combustion engines, vehicle travel off established roads, trails or parking areas, and firearms and explosives except for lawful hunting.

Pueblo Parks Group announced the restrictions June 25, and they took effect at 8 a.m. June 26.

Petroleum-fueled stoves, lanterns, propane grills and heating devices are still allowed only if they sit at least three feet from flammable material such as grasses or pine needles. Vehicles may not be parked off roads unless the spot is free of vegetation within 10 feet of the roadway, and generators are allowed only with an approved spark arrestor and in a cleared area away from combustible material.

Managers set restrictions based on fire activity, weather, fuel moisture and firefighting resource availability, and the rules can be upgraded or downgraded at any time. Santa Fe National Forest has also issued an emergency Stage II fire restriction order, and active incidents include the 150-acre McCauley Springs Fire near Battleship Rock and the 128-acre Rio Fire, according to New Mexico Fire Information.

Bandelier spans more than 33,000 acres, and Valles Caldera covers 88,900 acres in the Jemez Mountains at elevations of roughly 8,000 to 11,300 feet. The Las Conchas Fire burned 156,000 acres in 2011, and Las Conchas plus the Thompson Ridge Fire left burn scars across a combined 60% of Valles Caldera National Preserve.

In 2022, the monument lifted Stage II and III restrictions after rain reduced fire danger, but the Cerro Pelado Fire had already forced a closure and kept the Alamo Boundary Trail area shut because of hazard trees and potential flooding. USDA Forest Service investigators later traced that fire to a holdover from the Pino West Piles prescribed burn.