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Fire managers are postponing pile burn operations along and near Highway 150 to this Friday. Meanwhile, crews completed work on the Comanche and Bobcat Ranch pile burn project today. Here’s the latest:

• Pile burning within the Highway 150 Corridor Wildland Urban Interface Project is pushed to at least Friday, Nov. 15. Originally scheduled to tentatively begin tomorrow, the forecasted ventilation rate, which indicates how well smoke will disperse out of the area, has worsened.
• Piles from 36 acres of thinning were treated with fire on the south side of Valle Vidal at the forest boundary with the Pueblo of Sandia’s Bobcat Ranch.
• Both the Carson National Forest and Pueblo of Sandia are working to reduce fuels on each side of the boundary. Burning down the piles on the Carson National Forest side will provide a buffer for future understory burning in the area.

Highway 150 Project Background

Local organizations in 2014 came together to form the Taos Valley Watershed Coalition, which named the highway corridor as one of its priorities for protecting the forest and watershed that communities depend on.

The piles were made from thinning along length of Highway 150 within Carson National Forest, between Valdez to above the Village of Taos Ski Valley, and along a portion of the Wheeler Peak Trail. More information about the project is available at fs.usda.gov/goto/Hwy150Project.

Smoke

Fire managers work with the New Mexico Environment Department to conduct ignitions on days when smoke impacts will be limited. Such coordination can prompt fire managers to postpone work, as announced today. Nonetheless, smoke will be present when pile burning occurs and will impact nearby areas, especially in the afternoons and evenings.

Smoke readiness tips are available at fs.usda.gov/goto/CarsonRxSmoke.