US review traces massive New Mexico fire to planned burns – By Morgan Lee, Cedar Attanacio, Associated Press
Two fires that merged to create the largest wildfire in New Mexico history have both been traced to planned burns set by U.S. forest managers as preventative measures, federal investigators announced Friday.
The findings shift responsibility more squarely toward the U.S. Forest Service for initiating a natural disaster that has destroyed at least 330 homes as flames raged through nearly 500 square miles (1,300 square kilometers) of high-altitude pine forests and meadows. The wildfire also has displaced thousands of residents from rural villages with Spanish-colonial roots and high poverty rates, while unleashing untold environmental damage.
Roughly 3,000 firefighters, along with water-dropping planes and helicopters, continue to fight the blaze as it approaches mountain resorts and Native American communities. Firefighting costs already surpass $132 million, climbing by $5 million a day.
Fire and law enforcement officials offered a cautious but hopeful Friday night status report, with fire behavior analyst Stewart Turner noting they need to watch the so-called "red flag" conditions — warm, dry weather with high winds — starting Saturday.
"The weather is a big concern for us," Turner acknowledged, saying even an errant pine cone rolling down a slope and crossing a control line could spread flames. "Red flag warning is a big message for tomorrow."
He said dry conditions are expected through Tuesday, but some moisture and even thunderstorms are possible starting Wednesday.
Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández described a rising sense of outrage as the fire triggers new evacuations of families and livestock. Fear of flames is giving way to concern about erosion and mudslides in places were superheated fire penetrates soil and roots.
"The destruction these two fires caused is immeasurable and will be felt for generations," said Leger Fernández, sponsor of a bill that would reimburse residents and businesses routed by the fire.
The Forest Service has not yet released detailed planning documents for the original planned burns that might indicate whether fire protocols were followed.
Scientist and forest managers are racing to develop new tools to forecast the behavior of planned fires amid climate change and an enduring drought in the American West. The intentionally set blazes, known as prescribed burns, are aimed at limiting the accumulation of timber and underbrush that, if left unattended, can fuel extremely hot and destructive wildfires.
The Biden administration announced in January a $50 billion plan to stave off catastrophic wildfires that would more than double the use of planned fires and logging to reduce trees and other vegetation that serve as tinder in the most at-risk areas. Prescribed burns often are used in wildland areas that are too vast to thin by hand or machine.
The two fires east of Santa Fe joined in April to form the massive blaze at the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains, in the Sangre de Cristo range.
One of the fires was previously traced to April 6, when a planned burn, set by firefighters to clear out small trees and brush, was declared out of control.
On Friday, investigators said they had tracked the source of the second fire to the remnants of a planned winter fire that lay dormant through several snowstorms only to flare up again last month.
Investigators said the prescribed "pile burn" was initiated in January at Gallinas Canyon in the Santa Fe National Forest outside Las Vegas, New Mexico, and concluded in the final days of that month. Fire was reported again in the same vicinity April 9 and escaped control 10 days later amid dry, hot and windy conditions, Forest Service investigators found.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in a statement called the investigation results a "first step toward the federal government taking full responsibility" for the New Mexico wildfire. She highlighted her pending request to President Joe Biden to direct the Federal Emergency Management Administration to pay for 100% of costs related to a broad range of recovery efforts.
Forest Service Chief Randy Moore last week announced a 90-day pause and review of protocols for planned fires that limit the buildup of flammable vegetation. He cited extreme fire danger and unfavorable weather and did not specifically link the review to New Mexico's fires.
"It will also ensure the prescribed burn program nationwide is anchored in the most contemporary science, policies, practices and decision-making processes, and that employees, partners and communities have the support they need to continue using this critical tool to confront the wildfire crisis," the agency said in a statement Friday.
Moore said prescribed fires go as planned in more than 99% of cases. Notable exceptions include the 2000 Cerro Grande Fire that swept through national security installations and residential neighborhoods at Los Alamos.
So-called pile burns can often include wildland debris collected over months or even years. Forest managers cut back trees and gather debris into mounds, preferring to burn forest fuels in the winter when planned burns are easier to control.
In January, Santa Fe National Forest workers started burning through a series of piles across an area of 0.6 square miles (1.5 square kilometers), after advising the public of possible smoke hazards.
Navajo sign water rights settlement with Utah and feds – Associated Press
Federal officials signed an agreement with leaders of the Navajo Nation on Friday that provides funding for clean drinking water infrastructure for reservation residents and resolves questions about longstanding Navajo claims to water rights in the drought-stricken U.S. West.
The signing formalizes the Utah Navajo Water Rights Settlement, which became law in 2020 as part of President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure bill. As part of the agreement, the federal government will pay the Navajo Nation $210 million for drinking water infrastructure in San Juan County — the part of the 27,00-square-mile (71,000-square kilometer) reservation that lies in Utah.
Many Navajo homes lack running water. Residents often fill containers at public taps or rely on water deliveries from volunteer organizations.
"As we seek to strengthen Indigenous communities and support tribal self-governance, today's action and all of these investments will help provide the Navajo Nation with autonomy and flexibility to design and build appropriate water projects that will address current and future water needs," U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said at a signing ceremony on the Navajo Nation.
Utah, which was also party to the agreement, will pay the Navajo $8 million as part of the settlement.
"We had two real problems in our state. One was the Navajo Nation had claims to the Colorado (River) that would impair Utah's water rights," U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney told The Salt Lake Tribune. "The other concern we had was about half the Navajo Nation residents (in Utah) didn't have running water."
The settlement also quantifies the Navajo Nation's water rights, quelling Utah's anxieties about its long-standing claims to a share of water, including from the Colorado River.
A 1908 court decision said tribes had rights to as much water as was needed to establish permanent homelands. Though they possess senior rights, the Navajo were left out when seven western states divided up shares as part of the Colorado River Compact a century ago.
The subsequent uncertainty and potential legal battles have emerged as an urgent issue as the region reckons with a hotter, drier future with less Colorado River water to be shared.
The settlement recognizes the Navajo's right to 81,500 acre-feet of Utah water and allows them to draw the water from aquifers, rivers or Lake Powell, if they choose. The agreement also allows the Navajo to lease unused water to entities off the reservation and guarantees they won't lose water rights not put to use.
It's one of 16 tribal water rights settlements that the Biden administration is devoting $1.7 billion to fund from the recently enacted federal infrastructure bill.
"The hard work, however, must continue until all homes across the Navajo Nation have clean water running in faucets for all Navajo families," Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez told the newspaper.
High price homes are more likely to be threatened by wildfires – Madelyn Beck, Boise State Public Radio News
People facing high wildfire risks are more likely to be older, white, live in pricier homes and have higher incomes, according to new research published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
“The highest income households are as much as 70% more likely than median households to be living in high fire-hazard areas,” said Matt Wibbenmeyer, a fellow with the nonprofit Resources for the Future who co-authored the study.
The findings suggest that this demographic is drawn to amenities on the outskirts of Western cities, such as tree cover, views and access to recreational opportunities. That often puts them in areas of the wildland-urban interface that have higher wildfire risks.
However, this data is somewhat skewed towards the larger number of people living on the outskirts of urban centers where costs are higher.
Looking at more rural areas of the Mountain West, the report highlights where there are also significantly lower-income homes that are disproportionately affected by wildfire risks. It found Native Americans were disproportionately impacted, too.
Wibbenmeyer cautioned that the researchers were only studying risk, and not vulnerability. Those with lower incomes and underinsured homes will likely have a significantly harder time recovering from a wildfire.
The report collected economic data for houses and individuals using Zillow and the U.S. Census Bureau. It also relied on U.S. Forest Service data to assess wildfire risk areas.
Albuquerque Fire Rescue reopens trail that was closed by bosque fire – Jordan Honeycutt, KRQE
Albuquerque Fire Rescue has reopened the Paseo del Bosque Trail east of the Rio Grande River in the bosque near Montaño. Firefighters continue to work in the area to remove debris and deal with trees that were damaged by the fire.
Anyone who uses the bike path is asked to stay aware of fire crews as they continue to work in the area. The east side lower bosque trails from the Rio Grande Nature to Montaño continue to be closed along with the trails located on the west side of the river to the south of Montaño.