Fire managers on the Santa Fe National Forest plan to take advantage of favorable conditions, including fuel moisture levels, air quality and winds and weather forecasts to conduct a two-day prescribed burn in the Santa Fe Watershed. Possibly starting Monday.
The 755-acre treatment area is approximately three miles east of the City of Santa Fe on the south end between Nichols and McClure Reservoirs. Impacts from the hand and aerial ignitions are expected to be minimal due to this being a second entry prescribed burn into this particular area.
Historically, low- to moderate-intensity wildfires burned through southwestern dry conifer forests like the SFNF every seven to 15 years on average as part of a natural cycle that removed leaf litter, eradicated disease and thinned the understory, making room for new growth.