Major New Mexico wildfire was caused by Forest Service burn, agency finds

The U.S. Forest Service said Monday that the Cerro Pelado Fire which burned over 60 square miles in Sandoval County, New Mexico last year was caused by the agency’s own prescribed burn.

The investigation found the wildfire in April of 2022 started from an “escaped” prescribed burn where piles were ignited earlier in February.

The National Park Service explains prescribed fires as a “treatment for resource benefits or research,” which include “lighting a fire in an area for various purposes after careful planning and under controlled conditions.”

According to a lengthy report from the Forest Service, investigators found an “ash pit with burned woody material,” in two, specific and adjacent origin areas. The report also found the ash pits were made after “logging debris was either pushed into piles with the use of equipment or piled by hand and burned.”

United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service Southwestern Regional Forester Michiko Martin said investigators determined the prescribed fire caused a “holdover” fire, which he described as a fire that smolders without detection.

Martin said the holdover fire was dormant for “considerable time,” without visible signs of smoke or heat.

“This fire deeply affected our communities. Escaped prescribed fires in 2022 led the Forest Service to implement a 90-day national pause on prescribed fire and review required changes to the prescribed fire program,” Martin said, noting the Santa Fe National Forest has implemented these changes.

Martin said the Forest Service will conduct an internal declared wildfire review to learn how to conduct prescribed fires more safely and reduce the risk of them escaping. He added that firefighters in the Southwestern Region are now using handheld thermal devices and drones to detect the presence of heat.

Monday’s report sparked criticism from New Mexico leaders, including Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), who said on Twitter she is “outraged over the U.S. Forest Service’s negligence that caused this destruction.”

“While climate change and extreme drought continue to plague the Southwest, the Forest Service must abandon their business-as-usual approach to prescribed burns and forest management in our state,” it read.

New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich (D) echoed these concerns, tweeting that the Forest Service needs to prioritize “rebuilding the public’s trust.”

“New Mexico suffered enormous loss during last year’s wildfire season,” he wrote on Twitter. “It is frustrating and deeply concerning to learn now that the Cerro Pelado Fire was also caused by an escaped prescribed fire.”

The Forest Service previously said a prescribed burn was also responsible for the Calf Canyon Fire, which sparked just weeks before the Cerro Pelado Fire and is considered the largest fire in New Mexico history.

Shortly after both fires, the Forest Service announced it was pausing prescribed fire operations to conduct a 90-day review of protocols.