Trees ravaged in the Cajete Fire caused by an abandoned campfire June 15 in the Jemez. © 2017 David A. Ponton, wildearthlight.com

Cajete Fire devastation caused by an abandoned campfire June 15 in the Jemez. © 2017 David A. Ponton, wildearthlight.com

Cajete Fire devastation caused by an abandoned campfire June 15 in the Jemez. © 2017 David A.

Residents also asked if the operator of an unauthorized drone who caused air operations to be shut down for an hour and a half June 16 had been found. Officials responded that fire investigators are continuing to investigate both the abandoned campfire and the drone.

“Many people think they know how to handle putting out a campfire,” said Julie Anne Overton, public affairs officer for Santa Fe National Forest. “Thousands of people visit our Forest every weekend. A small minority of them who are ignorant about how to extinguish a campfire properly can disrupt hundreds of lives and cause millions of dollars to be spent on fighting a fire.”

She said it is as simple as taking a five-gallon bucket of water and a shovel on a camping trip and suggested Googling campfire safety to get the whole picture on safely abandoning a campfire site.

“Before you leave your campfire, dump water on it, stir it with a shovel and then dump more water on it. It needs to be cold to the touch before you walk away from it,” Overton says. “If it’s too hot to touch, it’s too hot to leave.”

Type 1 Incident Commander Mark von Twillow is slated to turn the fire over today to the Type 3 Command Team, which will patrol the fire. Some of the 359 personnel as well as helicopters and other equipment will be demobilized or reassigned to other fire incidents.  

“At 97 percent containment, we don’t need the big guns anymore. We anticipate minimal fire activity on the fireline and crews are continuing mop-up and fire suppression repair,” Overton said. “We are taking down hazardous trees along N.M. 4 and monitoring a section of the perimeter near Los Griegos Peak where there is a patch of standing dead trees from the Las Conchas Fire.”

Overton says fire officials believe forest restoration work in the area of the Cajete Fire such as prescribed burns and thinning of trees meant that the fire didn’t spread as far as it could have. At the last La Cueva meeting, one fire official told the crowd this is “the difference between ending up with a 1,400-acre fire instead of a 140,000-acre fire,” Overton said.

“Some good news is that we are hearing from the Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation group out there doing their analysis, that this fire did not burn as hot as everyone expected it to so it didn’t do the horrific damage that it could have,” she said.

Stage 1 fire restrictions are in effect for the Santa Fe National Forest and the burned area is closed due to hazardous conditions. While driving through the area, motorists are advised to watch for firefighting vehicles and other equipment, which may be in transit along N.M. 4. Drivers also should watch for fire-damaged trees, which may fall particularly in windy conditions.

Jemez Falls and Redondo campgrounds are closed as well as the Las Conchas Trail and the Gilman Tunnel.

Meanwhile, the Bonita Fire in the El Rito Ranger District of the Carson National Forest has burned more than 7,200 acres. There are concerns about the effects of isolated thunderstorms and erratic wind conditions on the fire, which was caused by a June 3 lightning strike. That fire is only 50 percent contained and is not expected to be fully contained until sometime in July.

Cajete Fire devastation caused by an abandoned campfire June 15 in the Jemez. © 2017 David A. Ponton, wildearthlight.com