Lightning strike sparks Bandelier fire

BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT, N.M. (KRQE - Smoke rising from east side of the Jemez Mountains is from a lightning-caused fire now being handled as a prescribed burn, a National Park Service spokesperson said late Wednesday.

The fire, first detected on July 2, is burning within the Bandelier Wilderness about 13 miles south of Los Alamos, NPS spokesperson Michelle Fidler told KRQE News 13. Firefighters are monitoring the fire and allowing it to burn naturally, she added.

The smoke plume is easily visible from Santa Fe and Albuquerque and from Interstate 25 between the cities.

The burn area currently is estimated at 115 acres with smoke increasing as the flames move into heavier piñon, juniper and ponderosa fuels, Fidler said. Warming and drying conditions also are contributing to fire activity, she said.

The Santa Fe National Forest reports it, too, is managing a fire about 20 miles north of Cuba in the Llaves area. The Jacquez Fire also is attributed to lightning and was reported Tuesday.

The fire has scorched about 60 acres and is reported to be "creeping" through piñon, juniper and pine.

The U.S. Forest Service said fire crews have identified forest roads to use as boundaries to use in letting the fire play a natural role in improving the health of the forest.

Smoke from the Jacquez Fire is visible from Llaves, Lindrith, Regina and possibly Gallina, according to the Forest Service.