Hello Everyone,

Lou Romero has made arrangements for FOSM volunteers to work with Joe Meade’s family members, son Jory and daughter-in-law Tami, to haul donation wood in Joe’s truck and trailer on Wednesday, May 4. We will be using Lou’s power splitter until 10 am to split the wood into small pieces that are easier to handle.

On May 4, we will need a large group of volunteers to help process the wood and haul the small split pieces in wheel barrows to Joe’s truck and trailer in the parking lot.

In a KKOB radio interview recently, Matt Rau, Cibola NF Fire Manager, said that the CNF would go to Stage 2 Fire Restrictions (FRs) on Monday, May 2. In Stage 2 FRs, chain saws and other internal combustion engines (such as Lou’s power splitter) can be used only before 10 am.

In preparation for the May 4 project under Stage 2 FRs, on Wednesday, April 27, we  will fell the last 4 hazard trees in Cienega Canyon PA and begin splitting manually the very large white fir rounds at Cienega Spring in the upper part of the picnic area. The usual manual splitting procedure is to score the large rounds about 2 inches deep with chain saws and then split the rounds with steel wedges and sledge hammers into halves and quarters.

On Wed., April 27, meet at 8 am at the FOSM Guard Station behind the Ranger Station. Wear long pants, long sleeve shirts, and boots with slip-resistant soles.  Bring a hard hat, eye and ear protection, snacks, drinks, lunch, and work gloves.

Please bring sledge hammers and splitting mauls.

Sam Beard, Projects Chair

Friends of the Sandia Mountains