NEWS RELEASE

Cibola National Forest and National Grasslands

2113 Osuna Road NE

Albuquerque, NM 87113

(505) 346-3900

www.fs.usda.gov/r03/cibola

www.facebook.com/cibolanf

https://x.com/cibola_nf

Cibola National Forest Completes Ignitions
on Sulphur Unit Prescribed Fire Piles

Sandia Ranger District

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – December 10, 2025 – Cibola National Forest & National Grasslands (NF & NGs) fire crews successfully completed ignitions yesterday on the Sandia Ranger District Sulphur unit pile burning. Fire crews will continue mop up cooling ash pits and monitor until the unit is declared out.

Residual smoke from the Sulphur unit pile burning operations may be visible from Albuquerque, Tijeras, Edgewood and Moriarty, NM. Map attached. For more detailed information about air quality, go to AirNow online or download the app.

Recreation access to the Sulphur area may be closed for public safety while fire crews continue with monitoring the area.

Fire managers took advantage of recent precipitation, snow covered ground, cooler temperatures, and higher relative humidity recoveries that created suitable conditions for burning piled slash and woody debris from earlier forest restoration work on the Sulphur unit.

This will be the final update on the Sulphur Unit Pile burn operations unless conditions or the situation warrants additional information.

Cibola NF & NGs Fire management will look for opportunities in the coming weeks for continued prescribed fire operations of the Sandia Piles Project on the Cedro unit pending forecasted daily weather, fuel moisture conditions and required approvals.

Stay informed about scheduled prescribed fires through InciWeb, New Mexico Fire Information and on the Cibola NF & NGs website, Cibola Facebook and Cibola X sites.

About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.