Cerro Grande Fire Forces Evacuation

Environmental Case Study Prescribed fires in Mexico: Cerro Grande Fire Forces Evacuation

May, 2000

During May 2000, New Mexico's largest recorded forest fire raged just west of Los Alamos. Fed by winds of 25 miles per hour, with gusts of up to 50 miles per hour, the Cerro Grande fire forced the evacuation of Los Alamos and came close to threatening storage facilities containing radioactive materials. The fire was controversial because it began as a normal prescribed burn, intentionally set by the National Park Service in nearby Bandelier National Monument. When it got out of hand, fingers were quickly pointed at the park service for planning that led to the loss of more than 200 homes.

Prescribed burns have become a common and important part of land management in many environments. The idea behind prescribed burns in forests is that frequent small fires cause little damage to forests, are beneficial to forest ecosystems, and prevent the buildup of fuel (dead wood) that would support larger, catastrophic fires. Prescribed burns should be started only when weather conditions are safe---that is, under moderately humid conditions with little wind. During the burn, fire crews contain the fire by lighting backfires (smaller fires that eliminate fuel in a band ahead of the main fire) and by clearing firebreaks (openings across which the fire should not be able to spread).

May's Cerro Grande fire began as an effort to clear fuel in Bandelier. Unfortunately, weather conditions turned dry and windy after the fire was started on May 4, and instead of burning out, the fire jumped its planned boundaries. By May 16, shortly before the fire finally ended, more than 46,000 acres had burned, and 1,200 people were working---on the ground and in planning offices---to minimize the damage. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbit declared a 30-day moratorium on prescribed burns in all western states and ordered an investigation into what went wrong at Cerro Grande. This report was released May 18. It concluded, among other things, that the fire plans had not adequately considered fuel conditions outside the planned fire boundary or taken into account 3-5-day wind forecasts. However, the general prescribed burn policy was considered sound, and prescribed fires---with careful planning---will continue to be an important part of public land management .

To learn more, see these related websites:

Cerro Grande Prescribed Fire Investigation Report

To read more, see: Environmental Science, A Global Concern, Cunningham and Saigo, 6th ed. Fire in environmental restoration, pp. 118-19 Fire management and fire policy in national parks, p. 319 Environmental Science, A Study of Interrelationships, Enger and Smith, 7th ed. Restoring ecosystems, p. 88