Ignitions Completed on Unit 1 of Pueblo Colorado Prescribed Fire Piles
Mountainair Ranger District
Contact Information: Patricia E. Johnson 505-850-2657 SM.FS.CibolaPAO@usda.gov
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – October 15, 2025 – The Cibola National Forest & National Grasslands (NF & NGs) fire crews have successfully completed ignitions today on 77 acres of unit 1 of the Pueblo Colorado Prescribed (Rx) Fire Piles within the Mountainair Ranger District. Crews will patrol and monitor the pile fires until they are called out.
Residual smoke from today’s pile burning operations may be visible from Willard, Cedarvale, Corona or within the Estancia Valley.
Fire management will look for opportunities in the coming weeks for pile burning on Pueblo Colorado Rx Fire Piles Unit 2 pending forecasted daily weather, fuel moisture conditions and required approvals.
Pueblo Colorado Prescribed Fire Piles Project includes:
722 acres of pinyon juniper piles on unit 1 & 2 in the Coordinated Resource Management Project in the Gallinas Mountains in Torrance County, NM located Southeast of Willard and 15 miles Northwest of Corona, NM. Map attached.
We use prescribed fires to help reduce overgrown vegetation to help protect local communities, infrastructure and natural resources from wildfires.
Stay informed about the scheduled prescribed fire 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.
