Extreme fire threats prompt US suspension of planned burns

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M — U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore cited excessive fire hazard and unfavorable climate situations Friday in asserting a suspension of all planned fire burning operations to clear brush and small bushes on all nationwide forest lands whereas his company conducts a evaluation of protocols and practices forward of planned operations this fall.

His resolution got here as federal forecasters warned that increasing drought situations coupled with scorching and dry climate, excessive wind and unstable atmospheric situations have led to explosive fire habits within the southwestern U.S. The fires which might be set on function are known as prescribed burns or fires.

“Our primary goal in engaging prescribed fires and wildfires is to ensure the safety of the communities involved. Our employees who are engaging in prescribed fire operations are part of these communities across the nation,” Moore mentioned in an announcement.

He mentioned they “deserve the very best tools and science supporting them as we continue to navigate toward reducing the risk of severe wildfires in the future.”

The U.S. Forest Service has confronted heavy criticism for a prescribed fire in New Mexico that escaped its containment traces in April and joined with one other blaze to kind what’s now the most important fire burning nationally.

Moore mentioned that in 99.84% of instances, prescribed fires go as planned and are a beneficial software for lowering the menace of excessive fires by eradicating useless and down bushes and different vegetation that serves as gas in overgrown forests.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who praised the short-term suspension of deliberately set fires, mentioned it is clear that well-managed prescribed burns might help scale back wildfire dangers.

But “it’s vital that federal businesses replace and modernize these practices in response to a altering local weather, as what was once thought of excessive situations at the moment are rather more widespread,” she mentioned in an announcement.

“The situation unfolding in New Mexico right now demonstrates without a doubt the grave consequences of neglecting to do so,” she said.

Wildfires have broken out this spring in multiple states in the western U.S., where climate change and an enduring drought are fanning the frequency and intensity of forest and grassland fires. The number of square miles burned so far this year is far above the 10-year national average.

Nationally, nearly 6,000 wildland firefighters were battling 16 uncontained large fires that had charred over a half-million acres of dry forest and grassland, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

A California fire that started Friday in a building and spread to vegetation in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada about 80 miles north of Sacramento forced evacuations and closed a state highway.

In Texas, firefighters made progress against a wildfire near Abilene that destroyed at least 27 structures. Evacuations were lifted.

The biggest U.S. fire has blackened more than 474 square miles of northern New Mexico’s forested Rocky Mountain foothills. State officials expect the number of homes and other structures that have burned to rise to more than 1,000 as more assessments are done.

The winds on Friday prevented some aircraft from flying and dumping retardant and water, but ground crews managed to turn back flames and reinforce fire lines threatened by gusts exceeding 40 mph.

“Crews did a really incredible job today,” mentioned Jayson Coil, one of the fire operations chiefs.

And forecasters mentioned cooler, moister situations starting Saturday ought to present reduction from the relentless winds and low humidity which have fueled the spring wildfires.