Fire near Placitas remains 0% contained, crews work to control it

Smoke, not flames, was the first immediate warning for Placitas and Bernalillo as crews pushed to stop the Osha Canyon Fire before it could move farther through the northern Sandia Mountain Wilderness. The fire was still 0% contained Saturday afternoon, and officials said residents could expect smoke to remain visible while aerial and ground crews worked the line.

The U.S. Forest Service said the fire started June 19 at 1:22 p.m. south of Placitas, west of Forest Service Road 165, in the Sandia Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest. By Saturday, it was estimated at 1/2 acre. A Type 1 helicopter and a large air tanker were among the aerial resources responding, and additional crews and equipment had been ordered.

Fire managers said the blaze was not threatening values at risk or communities at that time, but they also warned that active fire behavior could lead to growth under westerly winds. The public was told to avoid the area, and officials noted that drones could interfere with firefighting aircraft. Ground crews were expected to move into direct extinguishment work after air operations.

For Sandoval County, the incident fit a pattern local fire officials have been watching closely. Sandoval County Fire and Rescue says it operates through 8 fire districts and 20 fire stations with about 280 career and volunteer firefighters and paramedics, and it coordinates on wildland fires with nearby jurisdictions including Santa Fe County, Rio Rancho, Corrales, Bernalillo, Bernalillo County and Albuquerque.

The county’s wildfire history shows why a small start near Placitas draws quick attention. County materials say fire incidents jumped from an average of 30 per decade from 1970 to 2009 to 532 between 2010 and 2019. Another 344 incidents were recorded from 2020 to 2024, and nearly 300,000 acres burned in the 2010s.

Conditions in the area were already tight. The Sandia Ranger District had been under Stage 1 fire restrictions since May 8 and remains under those rules through Aug. 31. Campfires are prohibited at dispersed camping sites, and fireworks are always prohibited on national forests. Updates on the fire were being posted through Cibola National Forest and New Mexico Fire Information channels.

The threat around Placitas has also been part of recent community planning. At a wildfire preparedness presentation in Placitas, District Ranger Ken Born presented FSPro fire-spread modeling to the Placitas Resilience & Emergency Preparedness Alliance, drawing about 60 people in person and 40 on Zoom. The group said it was the first event to draw more than 100 participants, a sign that residents are treating wildfire risk as a live local issue, not a theoretical one.