Updated at 12:04 p.m. MDT April 12, 2022
3-D Map of the Hermits Peak Fire at about 9 a.m. April 12, 2022. The yellow line within the fire was the perimeter about 24 hours before.The Hermits Peak Fire 12 miles northwest of Las Vegas, New Mexico ran to the northeast Monday, moving out of the Santa Fe National Forest onto private land. The Incident Management Team said Monday afternoon it had burned 1,280 acres and a mapping flight that night put it at about 1,600 acres. Satellite data at 3:11 a.m. Tuesday indicated that it continued to spread significantly overnight. At about noon on Tuesday the Incident Management Team said it had burned 1,908 acres.
To see all articles about the Hermits Peak Fire on Wildfire Today, including the most recent, click HERE.
The San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office issued a mandatory evacuation for the communities of San Ignacio, Las Dispensas, Pendaries, Las Tusas, and Canoncito on Monday, April 11. An evacuation shelter is available at the old Memorial Middle School gym located at the corner of Legion and Old National in Las Vegas, NM.
The Incident Management Team reports that 600 structures are threatened and none have been destroyed. Resources assigned include 5 hand crews, 13 fire engines, and 3 helicopters for a total of 244 personnel.
Map of the Hermits Peak Fire. The red line was the approximate perimeter at about 9 a.m. April 12, 2022. The yellow line within the burn was the approximate perimeter early in the morning April 11. The straighter yellow line is the boundary of the Santa Fe National Forest.The area continues to be under a Red Flag Warning Tuesday and Wednesday. According to the Red Flag Warning the winds will be 30 to 45 mph out of the southwest gusting to 65 mph Tuesday, and 25 to 35 mph from the west with gusts to 40 on Wednesday. The relative humidity will be 10 to 15 percent Tuesday, dropping to 4 to 10 percent Wednesday. The National Weather Service forecast for the fire area agrees. The wind will be very strong Tuesday and Wednesday, and will slow to 10 to 20 mph Thursday through Sunday. The direction will be generally from the west the entire period and the relative humidity will be about 9 percent.
Under these weather conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday firefighting aircraft may not be able to effectively and safely operate, and firefighters can’t take direction on the head of the fire.
Click to see all articles on Wildfire Today, including the most recent, about the Calf Canyon, Hermits Peak, and Cooks Peak fires.
The Santa Fe National Forest announced today that a prescribed fire planned for the Santa Fe municipal watershed has been postponed.
Hermits Peak Fire, April 10, 2022. USFS.We will update this article as more information becomes available.
Updated at 6:45 p.m. MDT April 11, 2022
The red dots on the map represent heat detected by satellites on the Hermits Peak Fire at 2:02 p.m. MDT April 11, 2022. The red line was the approximate perimeter early Monday morning.At 1:30 p.m. Monday, strong winds pushing the Hermit Fire to the northeast prompted the San Miguel County Sheriff’s Office, in coordination with the US Forest Service, to order an immediate full evacuation of Las Dispensas, Pendaries, Las Tusas, San Ignaciao, and a “high alert warning” for the Canoncito area.
At 2:02 p.m. Monday, satellites detected heat from the fire very close to the border of the Santa Fe National Forest as it was spreading to the northeast. If that rate of spread continued it most likely moved out of the National Forest onto private land later in the afternoon.
10:13 a.m. MDT April 11, 2022
3-D map of the estimated location of the Hermits Peak Fire. Data from the Incident Management Team, early morning April 11, 2022.The Hermits Peak Fire 12 miles northwest of Las Vegas, New Mexico grew by a couple of hundred acres Sunday, and early Monday morning was estimated at 728 acres. A mapping flight Sunday night had to be cancelled due to heavy cloud coverage.
The southern one-third of the fire is held by completed fireline. The remainder is in very steep, rocky, rugged terrain.
A Type 2 Incident Management Team, Southwest Team 4 with Incident Commander Aaron Hulburd, is slated to assume command on Monday morning, April 11.
The black line shows the approximate location of the Hermits Peak Fire at about 6 a.m. MDT April 11, 2022. The red line was the perimeter about 24 hours earlier.Voluntary evacuations were issued Sunday for three communities north and northeast of the fire: San Ignacio, Las Dispensas and Pendaries.
Almost all of New Mexico and much of the central and southern plains are under a Red Flag Warning Monday. In New Mexico it will be in effect at least through Tuesday and a Fire Weather Watch has been issued for Wednesday.
Red Flag Warnings April 11, 2022The Red Flag Warning predicts 20-foot winds out of the southwest at 25 to 35 mph with gusts to around 50 mph Monday afternoon, and on Tuesday southwest to west 30 to 45 mph with gusts to 65. Wednesday will bring northwest winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 in the afternoon.
The relative humidity will range from 9 to 13 percent Monday
afternoon, 10 to 15 percent Tuesday, and 4 to 8 percent Wednesday.
We will update this article as more information becomes available.
