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Oct. 15, 2023—Today, fire crews finalized all hand and aerial ignitions on the 4,000-acre broadcast prescribed fire in the McCrystal Rock Unit within Valle Vidal. The remaining 2,333 acres will be addressed in the future. 

All resources and firefighters that performed the burn will stay assigned to hold and closely monitor the fire area through tomorrow, 10/16. In the days to follow, local fire officials will continue to monitor the fire daily to ensure it stays within the existing footprint. In addition, a smaller organization of fire personnel will remain in the area to continue checking the fire by walking the unit boundary, mopping up edges and monitoring any remaining interior burning. No further growth is expected.

The unit remains open, but visitors should take caution when entering a recently burned area. Smoke may be present with occasional interior areas of fuel continuing to burn. Motorists are asked to slow down and drive with caution when firefighters and apparatuses are working on or near the roadways. 

The McCrystal Rock Unit is part of the larger 21,000-acre Valle Vidal Northeast Prescribed Fire Project. The goal is to improve wildlife habitat by, in part, promoting grassland and meadow regeneration and reducing the potential for high-severity wildfires in forested areas.

Fire-adapted forests in the Southwest must undergo fire disturbance on a regular basis to maintain resiliency. Reintroducing and maintaining regular fire intervals in the Valle Vidal, the so-called “Yellowstone of the Southwest,” is a key component of the USDA Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy. The emphasis of the strategy is to increase fuels and forest health treatments to protect natural resources in designated landscapes, including the 1.5-million-acre Enchanted Circle Landscape in Northern New Mexico.

The public can learn more information about this prescribed fire on InciWeb, New Mexico Fire Information and Carson National Forest social media channels (Facebook, X).