As last month’s nearly 18,000-acre Dog Head Fire destroyed 12 homes and came perilously close to many other homes in Chilili, Escobosa and Yrisarri, officials emphasized the need for homeowners to establish “fire-wise” practices and “defensible spaces” to prevent more fire destruction.
As monsoon rains begin arriving, officials are warning that the fire season isn’t over yet, making homes throughout the East Mountains still vulnerable to wildfires in one of the most dense urban-wildland interface regions found in New Mexico. Just because the Dog Head Fire was controlled before it destroyed many homes, fire officials worry about complacency, said Todd Haines, the Bernalillo District Forester for the New Mexico State Forestry Division.
Haines said there is a notion by some residents that the Dog Head Fire was the only fire they would have to worry about this year. It’s Haines’ job to work with homeowners to get them to see the value of putting some space between their house and the forest they live in, a request that can appear to diminish the charm of living in the mountains.