Single Publication

Acres: 341,735| Containment: 72% | Total personnel: 1,464|
Start Date: Hermits Peak: April 6, 2022; Calf Canyon: April 19, 2022 | Cause: Hermits Peak: Spot fires from prescribed burn; Calf Canyon: Holdover fire from prescribed pile burn | Location: Located near Gallinas Canyon | Fuels: Heavy mixed conifer, ponderosa pine, brush, and grass
Highlights: An area below Hamilton Mesa was filled in due to more accurate mapping, resulting in an acreage increase of 264 acres.
Aerial scouting on Thursday revealed three to four small, isolated smoke plumes on the south zone.  Conditions for fire transmission are limited to smoldering in pockets of dense downed timber.  The next community update will be livestreamed via Facebook tonight at 6 p.m. at www.facebook.com/CalfCanyonHermitsPeak, where the recorded version will be available shortly after 7pm.  Although most of the Santa Fe National Forest opened this morning at 8 a.m., the entire Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District will remain closed as firefighters continue to work on the fire and post-fire flooding issues. 

North Zone (SWIMT3): Crews continue to use masticators to rid debris created from the indirect fire lines and haul out logs. They are working with archaeologists to ensure cultural sites are not impacted during road repair.  Drying conditions yesterday and today provide opportunities to complete work on contingency fuel breaks, suppression repair,  and burned area emergency response (BAER) work. Although drier conditions are forecast for today, rains may return over the weekend.

South Zone (SWIMT5): Isolated heat sources may be sheltered enough to survive the accumulation of rain over the past five days. The overall strategy today is to minimize impacts to communities through suppression repair work along the Highway 63 corridor. This includes Tres Lagunas, Tererro, Davis Creek, Grass Mountain summer home area, Cowles, Iron Gate and Geronimo. Strategic planning continues for the Santa Fe Municipal Watershed and western Pecos Wilderness. Repair work is being completed to protect soils from erosion. Crews will work to complete as much work as possible before another weather event comes in. Fire-weakened trees, possible flash flooding, and smoldering tree stumps are just a few of the dangers in the area. All remaining evacuations in the south zone have been lifted.

Evacuations: For updated evacuation information from the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fires: www.tinyurl.com/hermitspeak. The Ready, Set, Go evacuation guide is available in English and Spanish here: https://tinyurl.com/RSGNM. For disaster assistance resources, visit: https://www.nmdhsem.org/2022-wildfires/.

Weather: Drier and warmer conditions continue today. Isolated showers and thunderstorms are possible over higher terrain both afternoons but coverage is expected to be limited once again. Looking ahead to the weekend, the next surge of monsoonal moisture will arrive on Saturday bringing renewed chances for moderate to locally heavy rain into early next week. Debris flow and flooding threats are high Saturday through Monday.

Closures and Restrictions: The Santa Fe and Carson National Forests lifted Stage 3 fire restrictions for most of their districts today at 8 a.m. The Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fires closure order covering the Pecos/Las Vegas District of the Santa Fe National Forest remains in place. To learn more about these closures and restrictions, visit: https://tinyurl.com/bdy5y99r. Information related to fire restrictions across public and private land can be found at: https://nmfireinfo.com/fire-restrictions/.

After Fire Flooding and Recovery Resources: After Wildfire New Mexico guide: https://www.afterwildfirenm.org/ | Hermits Peak & Calf Canyon Fire Burned Area Emergency Response information https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8104/.

Suppression Repair Property Survey: https://www.tinyurl.com/suppressionrepair

Smoke: An interactive smoke map at fire.airnow.gov/ allows you to zoom into your area to see the latest smoke conditions.

Fire Information: Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM | Phone: 505-356-2636 | Email: 2022.hermitspeak@firenet.gov

Online: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8069/ | https://www.facebook.com/CalfCanyonHermitsPeak| nmfireinfo.com |tinyurl.com/HermitsYouTube | Santa Fe NF |