Jacqueline Devine

Alamogordo Daily News

The Lincoln National Forest and the Southwest Prevention and Information Committee is kicking off its wildfire season campaign to raise awareness on wildfires in the southwest region.

The Southwest Wildfire Awareness Week outreach began March 27 and will continue through April 2.

Multiple wildfires have sparked since the beginning of the week in coincidental timing with the public service announcement which is why the forest service and Otero County officials are reaching out to the community to educate them on fire safety and prevention.

Firefighters battled a wildfire that broke out Monday afternoon on Moon Mountain just south of Ruidoso High School that forced the school to release students early that day. Another fire was detected on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, southeast of the Cienegita Lookout Tower ​near Miserable Springs the next day. The fire was estimated at five acres.

On Tuesday in Otero County, firefighters responded to two separate wildfires after a tree fell on some power lines while the second fire is still under investigation. Both fires were off of State Route 130 near Mayhill.

Lincoln National Forest spokeswoman Loretta L. Benavidez said the Southwest Wildfire Awareness Week campaign is targeted for New Mexico and Arizona because the two states are prone to grass fires due to highly flammable weeds and brush in the region. In years past, wildfire awareness started towards the end of the year but this time around they are targeting the actual wildfire season which is typically from March to July.

“The Southwest Wildfire Awareness Week ranges from home owner preparedness to outdoor safety awareness. Often times when you talk about wildfire awareness what happens is that it’s usually on the tail end of the season. In the southwest, wildfires happen as early as March or April and can go as far as July and on,” Benavidez said. “We strategically targeted March as the time to start reminding people that fire season is on the horizon. It seems like it was a coincidence this week with the fires that have occurred, everything just lined up for the fire season.”

She said the forest service urges the community to be precautious of fires they create or witness. One thing that they see on a daily basis is abandoned or unattended camp fires on forest grounds.

“Depending on the environment that they’re in, if they’re out in the forest one of the big things that people need to pay attention to is camp fire safety. What we run into a lot is abandoned camp fires or unattended camp fires,” Benavidez said. “When people are starting camp fires they need to make sure they’re putting them out before they leave, even if they’re going to leave for an hour or two and come back later. The camp fire has to be totally dead and cold to the touch.”

County Emergency Services Director Paul Quairoli said there’s a series of other things people can do to prevent fires on their own like never parking your vehicle over dead grass and letting brake pads wear too thin. If anyone sees a fire igniting or sees a threat they should always dial 911.

“If it’s going to be that large of a threat then you should always dial 911, that would get you to the city dispatch center or the county dispatch center and we could get the appropriate fire department or forest service in route to that fire to stop the dangerous act or put out the fire that has started,” Quairoli said.

According to Firewise, a program from the National Fire Protection Association, other tips include:

Removing things that can burn easily. Move firewood and clear dead and dense vegetation from at least 30 feet from around the house.

Remove flammable plants that contain resins, oils and waxes from within 30 feet of your house. Pick up leaves, branches and pines needles regularly.

When planting, choose plants with a high moisture content. They are more fire resistive than others and can slow a wildfire’s spread.

Trees and shrubs should be well-spaced, watered and properly pruned. Remove dead or low hanging branches.

Reducing the amount of fuel around the home will slow a fire’s progress. Dispose of branches and grasses in accordance with local regulations.

Have tools and water accessible. Fill buckets and other bulk containers with water.

Wet down the roof. If your roof is combustible, wet it down with a hose.

Never walk off and leave a burning cigarette and be aware of all smoking restrictions when recreating on public lands.

Quairoli said the Mayhill fires have been 100 percent contained, however there still might be some smoke in the area because crews are still putting out some patches, but the fire is controlled.

“All of our units are off of the fire now,” he said. “There still might be some smoke in the area because we still have some crews working in the center of the fire but it is contained and controlled.”

Benavidez said the Moon Mountain fire is 40 percent contained at this point which is a success considering firefighters have been facing challenges such as high winds for the last two days.

“During the last two days there has been a very strong wind that has been in the area that has challenged firefighters. The firefighters have been able to hold the line, this is all good news. Sometimes from the public’s eye, there’s a perception that there hasn’t been progress made on the fire because of the percentage of containment hasn’t increased,” she said. “However, in this particular case, with the challenge these last two days with the winds, the success there is that the fire did not grow. That’s what firefighters were really focused on.”

She also said there is about 200 personnel assigned to this fire and no injuries have been reported.

“Right now we have up to 200 personnel assigned to this fire, we’ve had a lot of success at keeping it at 125 acres and they continue to work on the perimeter so they can eventually in the next few days increase the level of containment,” Benavidez said. “There have been no injuries which is great news because wildfires are a risky place to be in. Firefighters move into their missions with their firefighters and public safety in mind and they keep that as their top priority throughout their assignment.”

At this moment, Benavidez said there is still no cause of the fire but a wildfire investigator will be called out to the scene to point out the source. She said there are generally two causes, natural causes and human-caused.

“There are generally two causes, one could be natural and the other is human-caused. Basically a natural cause in this area would be the result of lightning. We do know for a fact that there was no lightning in the area, there was no precipitation or weather that brought lightning over the area during the time the fire broke out,” she said. “By ruling out the natural cause of lighting then it goes to the next category which is man-made or human-caused. Under that umbrella, there could be a number of causes. A wildfire investigator will be called out to look at the point of origin to see if they can come up with a source of ignition. Sometimes we have success with that and sometimes we don’t. Right now it could be a long process. It could take weeks before they make that determination, but right now it remains under investigation.”

For more fire safety tips visit the New Mexico Fire Information’s website,https://nmfireinfo.com/2016/03/07/southwest-wildfire-awareness-week-is-march-27-april-2-2016/.