Cerro Pelado Fire Update – Sunday, April 24, 2022


Hours: 8 am-8 pm Phone: 505-312-4593 Email: [email protected]
InciWeb:
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8075/
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/2022.cerropeladofire Twitter: https://twitter.com/SantafeNF

The Cerro Pelado Fire, 7 miles east of Jemez Springs, New Mexico, started on Friday, April 22 during an epic wind event. The cause of the fire is still being investigated. It is burning in ponderosa pine and mixed coniferous and brushy trees. The fire is close to the fire footprint of the 2011 Las Conchas Fire, the 2013 Thompson Ridge Fire, and the 2017 Cajete Fire. The current fire footprint includes forest units that have been previously treated to reduce fire risk. .

Acreage: 3445 (decrease due to better mapping) Containment: 0 percent

Personnel and Equipment: 46 total staff; 9 engines, 2 excavators, 1 small and 2 large helicopters. More people and equipment have been ordered.

Yesterday: With clear skies and reduced winds, firefighters flew over the fire to map the fire and assess damage to structures. They identified several hotspots to the east of the main fire and used helicopters to cool them down with water droplets. Retardant was dropped along Forest Service Road (FR) 270 to help prevent the fire from spreading south. The Sierra de Los Pinos and Cochiti Mesa communities About 100 residences remained evacuated and firefighters continued to protect structures. The South Area Red Team, a Type 1 Incident Management Team, arrived to take command of the fire this morning.

Today: Firefighters will continue to protect structures near the fire, including the communities of Sierra de Los Pinos and Cochiti Mesa. Helicopters will be used to further assess the fire and drop water to cool hot spots. Firefighters will work along FR 270 East toward the Cerro Pelado overlook to contain fire north of FR 270 and east of FR 10. Consult with resource advisors prior to ground disturbance activities to protect sites. of cultural importance. Firefighters will also patrol and monitor the fire overnight.

Weather and Fire Behavior: Today is mostly sunny with west winds 5-9 mph gusting to 15 mph. High temperatures will be 54 to 58 degrees and relative humidity will be 10 to 14 percent.

On the east side of the fire, winds will push the fire east toward the 2011 Las Conchas fire footprint. On the south side, it will move into the 2017 Cajete Fire footprint, which should slow the fire at this time. area. On the north side, the fire will move into the footprint of the 2014 Pinto Fire and will also slow down the fire. Low to moderate fire behavior is expected, with fire receding downslope and occasional upslope traverses on the west side.

Evacuations, Refuge Areas: The Sandoval County Fire and Emergency Management Department will provide updates on evacuations as needed. The Sierra de Los Pinos and Cochiti Mesa communities continue to be evacuated. Evacuees can seek shelter at Jemez Mountain Baptist Church, 6 Riverview Court, Jemez Springs, New Mexico, 575-829-4475. Those who evacuated livestock can take it to the Expo/New Mexico Center at 300 San Pedro Drive NW, Albuquerque or the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Posse Arena at 1043 Rodeo Lane, Bernalillo, New Mexico (call Yvette Arnold 505-263-6388) .

Air quality: Information on air quality is found in the New Mexico Department of Health’s Environmental Public Health Tracking, https://nmtracking.org./fire. An interactive smoke map in https://fire.airnow.gov/ allows you to zoom in on your area to see the latest smoke conditions.

Closures: The New Mexico State Police have closed New Mexico Highway 4 from the junction with Route 126 east to almost the intersection of Route 501 at the “back door” of Los Alamos. Stay away from the Jemez Springs area to keep yourself and firefighters safe.

fire restrictions: Stage II Fire Restrictions are in effect for the Santa Fe National Forest, which prohibits building, maintaining, tending to, or using a fire, campfire, or stove, including charcoal and briquettes. Smoking is also prohibited, except inside an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or while standing in an area at least 3 feet in diameter that is free of flammable material. For other activities prohibited under Stage II Fire Restrictions, see https://www.fs.usda.gov/santafe

Additionally, due to ongoing fire threats, Sandoval County will not be issuing burn permits.

Temporary Flight Restriction: There is a flight restriction in the area above the fire (10 nautical miles southwest of Los Alamos, NOTAM 2/2278). https://www.tfr.faa.gov. Drones over the fire are also prohibited.




Reference-nmfireinfo.com

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