Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fires
May 30, 2022, Daily Update, 08:00AM
Acres: 315,223 | Containment: 50% | Total personnel: 2,989
Start Date: Hermits Peak: April 6, 2022; Calf Canyon: April 19, 2022 au
Cause: Hermits Peak: Spot fires from prescribed burn; Calf Canyon: Holdover fire from prescribed pile burn
Location: Located near Gallinas Canyon
Fuels: Heavy mixed conifer, ponderosa pine, brush, and grass
Highlights: In collaboration with Santa Fe National Forest, fire managers will reduce the frequency of Community Meetings for the incident beginning today. Community Meetings will now be held Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This change is a direct result of the positive progress firefighters have made in containing this fire and limiting fire growth. Daily operational updates will still be available on social media and will be posted at various locations around the fire.
A Red Flag Warning remains in effect today for critical fire weather, including low relative humidity and winds gusting up to 50 mph. This could increase fire behavior across the fire area and produce a visible smoke column. Residents of San Miguel, Mora, Taos, Colfax and Santa Fe Counties should remain on high alert for changes to evacuation statuses and road closures.
Operations:
North Zone (PNW2): Despite a second day of critical fire weather conditions with high winds and low relative humidity, there was very little growth on the fire perimeter yesterday. With forecasted winds out of the south, crews focused efforts on holding and securing the perimeter near Angostura and west of NM Highway 518 to prevent fire growth on the northern flank. Hotshot crews continued working to secure the northwest fire perimeter along the western flank of the Sangre de Cristo range, continuing fireline construction south into the high alpine near Serpent Lake. In anticipation of another day of forecasted Red Flag conditions, firefighters near Chacon will continue working along NM Highway 518 to hold and secure firelines. Several hotshot crews will continue working near Angostura to contain the fire perimeter and monitor any increased fire activity in today’s gusty winds.
South Zone (CAIIMT5): Yesterday the Operations Section Chief reported that firefighters continue to make good progress on the southwest perimeter. Crews are extinguishing areas of intense heat from burning trees and stumps and securing the containment line from Barillas Peak towards Elk Mountain. Most of the active fire behavior has been near Spring Mountain in the Pecos Wilderness. Low humidity with increased winds will continue today and firefighters were briefed to be on the alert for critical fire weather. The priority continues to be in Calf Canyon where firefighters are reinforcing containment lines and protecting structures. Firefighters will also be patrolling the southwest perimeter extinguishing any burning vegetation and looking for hotspots that may threaten containment lines. Due to steep and inaccessible terrain, firefighters are constructing indirect handline, away from the fires edge, in the Pecos Wilderness.
Evacuations: Go to tinyurl.com/HermitsPeak for the evacuation map and follow: San Miguel County Sheriff facebook.com/smcso.nm
Mora County Sheriff facebook.com/moracountysheriffoffice
Taos County Sheriff facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064642843163
Colfax County Sheriff facebook.com/Colfax-County-Sheriffs-Office-New-Mexico-971817152850308
Santa Fe County Sheriff https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064737934118
The Ready, Set, Go evacuation guide is available in English and Spanish here: https://tinyurl.com/RSGNM
Weather: A Red Flag Warning is in effect from 11 am Monday morning through 10 pm Monday evening, Minimum relative humidity values will be between 6 and 11%. Daytime temperatures will hold steady in the mid 60s-70s. Winds will ramp up, becoming southwesterly at 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 50 mph. Wind gusts up to 60 mph will be fairly widespread across the fire area. Closures and Restrictions: All National Forests in New Mexico have closures or restrictions in place due to extreme fire danger. To learn more about these closures and restrictions, visit: https://tinyurl.com/bdy5y99r. Information related to fire restrictions across public and private land can be found at: https://nmfireinfo.com/fire-restrictions/.
After Fire Flooding and Recovery Resources: After Wildfire New Mexico guide https://www.afterwildfirenm.org/ ; Hermits Peak & Calf Canyon Fire Burned Area Emergency Response information https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8104/. Smoke: An interactive smoke map at fire.airnow.gov/ allows you to zoom into your area to see the latest smoke conditions.
Fire Information: Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM | Phone: 505-356-2636 | Email: 2022.hermitspeak@firenet.gov Online: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8069/ | https://www.facebook.com/CalfCanyonHermitsPeak| nmfireinfo.com |tinyurl.com/HermitsYouTube | Santa Fe NF |
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