Burn plans from last fall still in effect; crews awaiting sufficient moisture
QUEMADO, NM, Jan. 28, 2025 – The Quemado Ranger District plans to use prescribed fire to burn the Baca community slash disposal site when conditions allow. The district is also preparing to continue burning 800 acres of slash piles adjacent to Luna, New Mexico. Crews are monitoring weather for precipitation events to support slash pile burning.
"The Baca community slash disposal site provides a place for landowners to dispose of hazardous fuels that have been cut and removed from private lands in the area, and the forest periodically burns the woody debris. This is a critical service by the Gila National Forest to support Catron County's Firewise program," said Quemado District Ranger Randall Chavez. "Large slash piles near Luna are the result of timber sales and hazardous fuels treatments that have been strategically placed to create a fuel break to protect the community. Now that those mechanical treatments are complete, burning the slash will further reduce fuel loading on the landscape and the risk of high-severity wildfire, while reintroducing a keystone ecological process to fire-dependent ecosystems."
The Baca slash site is expected to be burned first and will take one to two days of ignitions to complete. The Luna area slash piles will be burned through the winter months in a longer-term effort, with repeat entries necessary when conditions allow, to accomplish the full 800 acres. Measurable moisture will be needed before the Luna piles can be burned.
Signs will be posted in areas where prescribed fires are taking place. Smoke will be visible from Quemado Lake during the Baca pit burn, and from Luna and US Highway 180 during the Luna pile burns. Smoke may linger in the valley at night and during early morning hours. The Forest Service coordinates prescribed burning with New Mexico Environment Department and follows smoke management guidelines. Smoke and firefighter activity may impact forest road access. If this occurs, road guards will be in place. Air quality information and public health and safety protection measures are posted online at the New Mexico Fire Information website: NM Fire Info | Smoke Management. For more information contact Maribeth Pecotte at 575-388-8211 or
