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Santa Fe Watershed Prescribed Burn

This winter, fire managers on the Española Ranger District will be taking advantage of the season's weather to treat hazardous fuels within the Santa Fe Watershed with prescribed fire. Winter provides good prescribed burning conditions—warm days, cool nights and good ventilation for smoke.

Prescribed burning is the managed application of fire to wildland fuels (woody material) under specified conditions, within predetermined boundaries in an effort to reduce hazardous fuels, provide community protection, and restore forest health.

Prior to the burn, fire managers will consider many factors including: fuel moisture levels, weather forecasts, resources availability, and air quality in determining to ignite or not.

The Santa Fe National Forest is committed to protecting sensitive areas from smoke to the greatest extent possible. However, our highest priority is public well-being and safety, and through the reduction of hazardous fuels, which will minimize the threat of devastating wildfires.

• Burn Name: Santa Fe Watershed Prescribed Burn
• Planned For: Beginning December 05, 2011 through the end of Winter. After ignitions are complete, smoke will be visible for a few days.
• Acres to be Treated/Method: During the burning period, 100-acres of piled hazardous fuels will be treated with hand ignitions. No more than 40 acres will be treated at a time.
• Location: Approximately 3 miles East of the City of Santa Fe
• Benefits of Prescribed Fire
  - Reduces fuel build-up
  - Helps certain plants/trees germinate
  - Breaks up continuous fuels
  - Creates diversity needed by wildlife
  - Prepares the land for new growth
  - More efficient than mechanical treatments
• Smoke:
  - Smoke from the burn will be visible from Santa Fe, east of Santa Fe, Tesuque, and I-25, and to the East from Glorieta to the Pecos Canyon area. Smoke is expected to settle into lower elevations and in drainage areas during the evenings, but should lift by mid-morning.
  - Smoke will be monitored and the Forest Service will comply with NM air quality regulations. Smoke from prescribed fires is considerably less and of a shorter duration than smoke of wildfires that can burn for weeks and even months at a time.
  -Smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems are urged to stay indoors with windows and doors closed when possible and to avoid using wood or gas stoves and candles.

For more information, please call the Española Ranger District at (505) 753-7331 or visit us on-line at www.fs.fed.us/r3/sfe.