Quemado, NM, July 16, 2018—The Gila National Forest, Quemado Ranger District plans district-wide pile burns, weather and fire conditions permitting.

With the onset of monsoon season, the Quemado District is preparing to burn piles at various district locations. These areas will be signed and posted for public awareness. The pile burns are scheduled to begin the week of July 23, 2018. Piles will be burned throughout the monsoon green-up season when conditions are conducive to burning. The objectives of these burns are to reduce wildfire threat by removing piled fuels/slash created from past and ongoing thinning and timber sale projects.

The burns will be conducted at the following locations:

Baca Slash Pit; approximately 14 miles south of Quemado, 3 miles northeast of Quemado Lake off FR 4186

Luna Admin piles; at the Luna Work Center, Luna NM along FR 4026 C
Slaughter Mesa Restoration Project Piles; approximately 16 miles southeast of Quemado along FR 93 and FR 4017 L along Dead Horse Canyon
Armijo Spring piles; approximately 18 miles south of Quemado at Armijo Spring Campground along County Road A021, FR 4009 W and FR 4183 R

Smoke may be visible in the areas where the burns are being conducted and may linger at night and in the early morning, but will normally decrease significantly as daytime weather prevails. Smoke from the prescribed burn will be monitored to ensure that the New Mexico Environment Department’s Air Quality Bureau regulations are being met. Smoke-sensitive individuals and those with respiratory or heart disease should take precautionary measures. Air quality information and health protection measures are posted online at the New Mexico Department of Health’s website: https://nmtracking.org/fire .

Further information may be obtained by contacting Quemado Ranger District Fire Management at (575) 773-4678. For information on the Gila National Forest, check out our website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/gila