News Release, July 1
Incident: Pacheco Fire Wildfire
Released: 7/1/2011
Fire Information: (505) 473-3760 or (505) 473-3792
7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Acres: 10,116 Start date: June 18, 2011
Cause: Under Investigation Location: 2 miles north of Santa Fe Ski Basin
Containment: 27 percent Fuels: Mixed conifer and Ponderosa pine
Terrain: Steep, rugged Resources: 12 crews, 13 engines, 9 water tenders, 1 dozer
Total personnel: 530 Available air support: 9 helicopters
Summary: Minimal fire behavior occurred around the fire yesterday. Wetting rains were reported on portions of the fire that helped with the cooling of hot spots and heavy fuels in the interior. The thunder cells that developed above the fire in the afternoon produced erratic winds; however fire growth potential remained low.
Firefighters continued to hold and improve direct line around the west, north and south perimeter of the fire. Mopping up 300 feet into the interior of the southern end will also continue. Rehabilitation work has begun on the western portion of the fire returning the area to its natural state.
Today's weather will be dry with minimal cloud cover and no rain in the forecast. Winds will be out of the southwest at 8 mph with gusts of 18 mph. Higher relative humidity in the afternoon will contribute to higher moisture recovery overnight, keeping the fire behavior low.
Cause: The Santa Fe National Forest is requesting that anyone having knowledge of or having been in the vicinity of the Pacheco Fire (north of Aspen Ranch by the Borrego Trail) between June 17 and June 18 please contact the Santa Fe National Forest at (505) 438-5372.
Threats: The Santa Fe watershed, Santa Fe ski area, Nambe Pueblo lands, Tesuque Pueblo lands and Tesuque Peak communications site remained threatened. No evacuations are in effect at this time within Pacheco Canyon. Residents of the area should remain aware of changing conditions as fire spread increases.
Smoke: Again today, very little smoke was generated on the Pacheco Fire. The communities in the region will continue to be impacted by smoke as fires continue to burn. Smoke sensitive persons in these areas need to be alert to this possibility and be prepared to take any necessary precautions. For more smoke information and air quality forecasts, please visit the New Mexico Environment Department's website at http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/aqb/WildfireSmokeResources.htm.
Other websites with useful information concerning smoke are:
http://smoke.airfire.org/sw-outlook
http://smoke.airfire.org/sw-outlook/map
http://smoke.airfire.org/sw-monitoring
Road and Fire Area Closure: New Mexico Route 475, also known as Hyde Park Road, and Artist Road are closed at mile post 6, at the park boundary. Forest Service Road 102 to Pacheco Road is also closed.
A Fire Area Closure remains in effect. Review it at: www.fs.fed.us/r3/sfe/conditions/index.html
Open and active: Communities around the Pacheco Fire remain open and accessible including Tesuque, Pojoaque, Nambe, Santa Fe, and Pecos.
Fire Restrictions: With the exception of sections of the Coyote Ranger District and the Cuba Ranger District, the lands of the Santa Fe National Forest are now closed to all public access. The detailed list of what is off limits (restricted) is now available. For that list please visit: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/sfe/. Stage II restrictions are still in effect on National Forest System Land north of NM 96 and west of NM 550.
In addition, contiguous lands administered by New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and New Mexico State Parks are also under closure. Please visit http://www.wildlife.state.nm.us/ and http://www.publiclands.org/firenews/NM.php for more information.
