Despite rain, wildfires still a concern

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The monsoon season is upon New Mexico, but officials say not to count out fire danger just yet.

State forestry officials are playing it safe when it comes to saying the danger is gone and lifting fire restrictions.

The key to curbing the danger is wide-spread, consistent rain.

“We've been in a drought for so long there's a lot of catching up to do so a few days of rain is going to help us in the short term but we have to look long term,” Dan Ware said.

State Forestry Spokesperson Dan Ware says once the rain dries up, New Mexico will be in the same place as before.

The Manzano and Sandia Mountains have faired the best so far when it comes to rainfall.

In New Mexico’s many burn areas, it's a mixed blessing.

Residents near Bonito Lake in the Little Bear Fire burn zone had to deal with rushing water, falling trees, ash and debris.

The fear is that summer storms could spark even more fires.

Many of those storms come with lightning, which just happens to be the cause of many of the 50 fires that have popped up in the last two weeks.

Seven hundred acres have burned in those fires.

“A lot of these were just small fires but they were still fires that had to be responded to and suppressed and so the potential is still out there and we need folks to realize that and not take the rainfall for granted,” Ware said.

The state forestry division is evaluating the situation daily.

Fire restrictions could be dropped eventually, depending on how things develop over the next three to four weeks.

According to state forestry, because New Mexico has been in a drought for so long, much of the rain gets soaked up too quickly to make a difference in the short term.