U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Randy Moore announced the agency is pausing prescribed fires on national forest land while it conducts a 90-day review of “protocols, decision support tools and practices ahead of planned operations this fall.”
“The review I am announcing today will task representatives from across the wildland fire and research community with conducting the national review and evaluating the prescribed fire program, from the best available science to on-the-ground implementation,” Moore said in a statement. “Lessons learned and any resulting program improvements will be in place prior to resuming prescribed burning.”
Moore wrote planning for prescribed burns requires “extensive planning,” including developing and coordinating a burn plan, preparing the site, monitoring the weather and evaluating the community impact before deciding to go ahead.
“In 99.84 percent of cases, prescribed fires go as planned,” Moore said. “In rare circumstances, conditions change, and prescribed burns move outside the planned project area and become wildfires.”
While the statement from Moore does not address specific fires, the Hermits Peak fire was a result of the Las Dispensas prescribed fire northwest of Las Vegas, NM, which escaped on April 6. On April 22, it merged with the Calf Canyon fire, and according to InciWeb, as of May 23, it had consumed over 311,000 acres and was 40 percent contained. The combined fire has destroyed 347 homes and 287 other structures and is now the state’s largest wildfire.
According to Wildfire Today, Moore sent an email to USFS employees stating, “I’m sure you all have seen the stories in the news about recent prescribed burn escapes. These, as well as isolated incidents on other national forests in recent years, have made it imperative that we pause to review our processes.”
On May 20, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) met with USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Moore, asking for additional local consultation and greater consideration before initiating prescribed burns on federal lands during the state’s windy season. Grisham emphasized the need for USDA to provide disaster relief to farmers and ranchers to cover related losses and expenses fully. They also discussed economic opportunities for the local community as it recovers and weekly meetings to ensure USDA is as “responsive as possible to the needs of affected New Mexicans.”
Following the 90-day pause announcement, Grisham said she was pleased and will continue to work with USFS “to ensure voices at the local level are heard as the agency reevaluates how and when they conduct prescribed burns.”
“While we’re clear about the long-term importance of carefully studied and well-managed prescribed burns as tools to improve forest management, it is critical that federal agencies update and modernize these practices in response to a changing climate, as what used to be considered extreme conditions are now much more common—the situation unfolding in New Mexico right now demonstrates without a doubt the grave consequences of neglecting to do so,” Grisham continued.
According to Moore’s press release, USFS conducts an average of 4,500 prescribed fire projects annually, treating more than 1.4 million acres of its lands. Since 90 percent of the prescribed burns occur between September and May, Moore said the pause will have a minimal impact on USFS’ goal of increasing fuel treatments to four times the current level in the West. — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
