Updated 5:32 p.m. MDT May 6, 2022
Most of the growth of the Calf Canyon / Hermits Peak Fire on Wednesday and Thursday was in three areas, on the north side west of Mora, on the southwest side near Bear Mountain, and the southeast side west of Las Vegas. Most of the additional acres near Las Vegas were a result of large burning operations conducted by firefighters to secure the fire edge. A mapping flight Thursday night determined that the fire had burned 168,009 acres, an increase of about 8,000 acres over the previous two days.
An area that is of concern to many residents in the area, the portion of the fire near Las Vegas, is “looking awesome”, said Operations Section Chief Todd Abel in a Friday morning briefing, implying there was not much active fire and the control lines are in place and holding.
Mr. Able said the weather and fire conditions have allowed firefighters to build direct fireline on the north side just west of the community of Cleveland, which is good news with strong winds in the forecast (see below for more weather information).
The weather is going to be a challenge again this weekend due to what firefighters call a “wind event”. According to the forecast Saturday will bring strong winds gusting to 39 mph, becoming even stronger on Sunday and Monday gusting to 45 mph. The direction will be generally out of the southwest and west while the minimum relative humidity each day hovers around 10 percent. These conditions will test the firelines on the east and northeast sides of the blaze. Firefighters, of course, are aware of the prediction and have been prepping structures, constructing and improving firelines, and building contingency lines further out.
A multi-day critical fire weather event will impact mainly New Mexico through the next few days, and also much of SE Colorado, eastern Arizona and the Texas panhandle/west TX. A combination of strong winds, low humidity, & warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior pic.twitter.com/u2mhxpK5FU
— National Weather Service (@NWS) May 6, 2022
Over the last few days fire crews have been working north of the fire to be prepared if the fire makes a big run in that direction toward Chacon and Guadalupita South along the 519, 121, and 434 roads. Northeast and southeast of Mora they have used dozers to build firelines behind homes.
The Southwest Team #2 is bringing in a second team, a Type 2 team, Southwest Team #3. As explained by Operations Section Chief Todd Abel Friday morning, “They will integrate with our team. This means there’s still just one team, but we brought those people in to help us have a little bit more capacity so that if we have the potential to move further north that we have those folks available.”
Most of New Mexico is in extreme or exceptional drought. The vegetation, or fuels, are atypically dry due to the drought, exacerbated by strong winds and high temperatures. Extremely dry fuels is one of the factors that can contribute to the rapid spread of a fire, especially when combined with very low humidity, high temperatures, and very strong winds.
The spread of the Calf Canyon / Hermits Peak Fire has been primarily through Ponderosa pine with a significant amount of dead and downed fuels in the understory. As the fire progresses downslope to the east, the dominant fuels transition through pinyon/juniper, Gambel oak, and brush to short grass.
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico-news/nm-lawmakers-frustrated-with-us-forest-services-role-in-starting-hermits-peak-fire/6463857/
NM Gov is not happy.
No surprise there
More responsibility need in burn bans and when the state issues…Feds follow….not too hard to reason
Absolute no RX when this season is in full tilt. The Governor and citizenry ought to QUESTION the USFS in this light very heavily and there ought be some responsible answer at whatever “Town Hall” that the RO or DO cooks up. Be expecting some real pointed questions…like WHY….firefighter are doing their job….management might want to start doing theirs…
Agreed Shazaaaaam.
The FS tends to obfuscate greatly at these “town halls” and already has their minds made up long before they’re even scheduled. Town halls are literally just a formality for them, a required check box before proceeding down a predetermined path.
FS leadership is also filled to the gunwales with hubris. In fact, in my considered opinion, you would be hard pressed to find another Fed agency with as much hubris. They’re great at lip service and abysmal with follow through. We all recently had to attend disgusting mandatory “This is who we are” seminars. The sessions were an abhorrent display of tone deaf sycophant FS talking points and felt like they were trying to sell us a cheap time share. All just more lip service.
Nope, I’ve had it with this agency, they’ve squandered what they had in us once ultra dedicated, proud and loyal employees. They added to our yolks without shame. They took us for granted and exploited us at every turn. They pretended to listen and then summarily dismissed any/all input. They shamelessly lied through their teeth about the state of the agency. THAT is who they are.
The FS was once a proud entity full of woodmen and woodswomen; gritty, sharp dedicated and loyal. Now it is bursting with wannabe politicians, ladder climbers and soft handed admin nerds that you want to bite in the face to make them stop talking. It’s a sunk ship, a write off. Sad.