Firefighters are working to suppress several wildfires caused by lightning that sparked across the Santa Fe National Forest after a thunderstorm swept through northern New Mexico on Monday.
Authorities reported that the Oso Fire, on the Española Ranger District along the Rio del Oso about two miles northeast of Chicoma Mountain, was one-tenth of an acre on Tuesday. It is burning as a single hurdle within an old burn scar. The Cebolla 2 Fire is on the boundary of the Cuba and Jemez Ranger Districts, about 1.5 miles west of Valle San Antonio. It had grown to a half-acre. It is burning slowly through dense downed timber beneath ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir. Firefighters are on the fire scene working to contain it.
Officials detected a separate fire—the Pelada Fire—in the Pecos‑Las Vegas Ranger District six miles east of Santa Fe on Tuesday evening. It had already burned about 4.9 acres. Firefighters had halted the fire’s advance, with containment lines established around its perimeter. They have deployed about 30 personnel, including a hotshot crew, and expect containment soon. Rising columns of smoke may be visible from the Santa Fe foothills, Cañada de los Alamos, and nearby Interstate 25.
Authorities said the fire incidents have threatened no structures, and no evacuations have been ordered. All fires are under full suppression as of this writing.