[Volunteers_fosm] Fwd: NEWS RELEASE Prescribed Fire Piles Planned for Cedro & Sulphur Units as early as Tuesday, December 9 - Sandia Ranger District - Cibola National Forest & National Grasslands

Fri Dec 5 22:50:11 MST 2025

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: FS-Cibola PAO <SM.FS.CibolaPAO at usda.gov>
Date: Fri, Dec 5, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Subject: NEWS RELEASE Prescribed Fire Piles Planned for Cedro & Sulphur
Units as early as Tuesday, December 9 - Sandia Ranger District - Cibola
National Forest & National Grasslands
To:

*NEWS RELEASE*

[image: Forest Service Shield]

*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 Prepares for Prescribed Fire Piles on the Sandia
Ranger District

*Favorable weather conditions in place for hazardous fuels reduction work*

*ALBUQUERQUE, NM – December 5, 2025 *– The Cibola National Forest &
National Grasslands (NF & NGs) is planning prescribed fire pile burn
operations on the Sandia Ranger District as early as Tuesday, December 9
pending all required approvals. We estimate this work to continue
throughout the month of December as weather conditions allow.

Fire managers are taking advantage of recent precipitation, snow covered
ground, cooler temperatures, and relative humidity recoveries that create
suitable conditions for burning piled slash and woody debris from earlier
forest restoration work. We use prescribed fires to help protect local
communities, infrastructure and natural resources from wildfires.

Sandia Ranger District Prescribed Fire planned for:

•   Cedro Unit Prescribed Pile Burn: 15 acres of piles within the Cedro
unit in the Sandia Piles Rx plan. The pile burn area is in the Manzanita
Mountains. Cedro is located south FSR 462, east of NM-337. Smoke may be
visible from Albuquerque, Tijeras, Edgewood and Moriarty, NM. *Map
attached.*

•   Sulphur Unit Prescribed Pile Burn: 18 acres of piles within the Sulphur
unit in the Sandia Piles Rx plan. The pile burn area is in the Sandia east
mountains, north of I-40, west of NM-14 and south of NM-536. Smoke may be
visible in the surrounding areas of Albuquerque, Tijeras, Edgewood and
Moriarty, NM. *Map attached.*

This area may be closed to the public for several days during burn
operations for public safety. Watch for warning signs along roads near all
prescribed fire areas before and during burns.

Residents may experience smoke during the prescribed burn. For more
detailed information about air quality, go to AirNow
<https://fire.airnow.gov/> online or download the app. Smoke is expected to
lift during the day, however, cooler overnight temperatures may cause smoke
to settle into low-lying areas surrounding the burn location. When driving,
slow down and turn on your headlights when you encounter smoke on the road.

We will evaluate weather conditions in the hours before a burn begins. If
conditions warrant, scheduled prescribed fire activities may be canceled.

Stay informed about scheduled prescribed fires through InciWeb
<https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/>, New Mexico Fire Information
<https://nmfireinfo.com/> and on the Cibola NF & NGs website
<https://www.fs.usda.gov/r03/cibola>, Cibola Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/cibolanf> and Cibola X <https://x.com/cibola_nf>
sites. We will notify county emergency management officials when burning
begins.

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.

This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely
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or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law
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