Will The Increasing Size of The Fire Make it Impossible to Manage?
Incident: San Miguel Wildfire
Released: 7/15/2009
It is important to look at the fire history in this section of the park to assess the risks. The 1977 La Mesa Fire and the 1996 Dome Fire burned very large portions of the Bandelier Wilderness. These fires reduced the fuels in the areas around this fire. As it enters into these areas, the rate of spread will slow because there are not consistent heavy fuels to carry it. This fire is also so remote that it has a large distance to move before it reaches anything that would trigger aggressive suppression actions.
This is a perfect place for a wildland fire to occur - in remote wilderness with limited fuels with natural fuel breaks which will limit the spread of this fire. This is also a perfect time because there are so few fires occurring across the US that fire resources like fire fighters, helicopters, etc are readily available. And this year at Bandelier, it is also the perfect conditions because the park has been having so much rain since May. Although June is typically the hot, dry month at Bandelier, the park has received a significant amount of rain since May 1 and has had very few hot days. The vegetation is very green and the springs are flowing well. The mesa/canyon topography also creates natural breaks in the path of the fire (such as rock & dirt canyon rims) that can be enhanced by the firefighters to contain the fire.
