NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – There will be a prescribed burn on the Valles Caldera National Preserve in the coming weeks. Crews are expected to burn piles of debris across roughly 2,200 acres in order to reduce the risk of big wildfires. It’ll start this month and last through the winter.
According to a news release, planned pile burn projects are located within the preserve on South Mountain (980 acres), Cerro Seco (525 acres), Cerro San Luis (670 acres), Valle San Antonio (10 acres), Banco Bonito (2 acres), and an area along New Mexico State Route 4 on the east side of the preserve (22 acres). According to the same news release, because of the location and elevation, smoke from the prescribed burns may be visible from all directions coming into the Jemez Mountains, including La Cueva, Sierra Los Pinos, Jemez Springs, Jemez Pueblo, Cañon, Gilman, and Los Alamos and smoke may linger for a few days after each burn.
The National Park Service says smoke-sensitive individuals and people with respiratory problems or heart disease are encouraged to take precautionary measures.
