The largest wildfire in New Mexico historyâwhich is still burningâwas started by the U.S. Forest Service, federal investigators announced Friday.
The catastrophe began as two fires that merged into one. Both wildfires have now been conclusively traced to planned burns conducted by the Forest Service. Planned or “prescribed” burns are used to reduce the threat of extreme fires by reducing the amount of dry fuel in the forest.
So far, the New Mexico fire has destroyed 330 homes and scorched some 500 square miles. The cost of battling the blaze has surpassed $130 million, and rises another $5 million each day, according to the Associated Press.
The Hermits Peak Fire started on April 6. On April 19, the Calf Canyon Fire sprang from a reignited “burn pile” that had been dormant through three winter snow events. They merged on April 22, and their destructive march across the Land of Enchantment still hasn’t ended.
On May 13, New Mexico governor Michelle Lujan Grisham asked the federal government to cover 100% of the response and recovery costs. Following the Forest Service announcement, Grisham said:
âThe pain and suffering of New Mexicans caused by the actions of the U.S. Forest Serviceâan agency that is intended to be a steward of our landsâis unfathomable. This is a first step toward the federal government taking full responsibility for the largest wildfire in state history.”
…and yet people vote for ever more govt to tell us to protect the trees…
The person/s responsible are probably getting promoted.
A friend of mine who worked for the Forest Service one college summer break years ago … said they are brain dead and would never work for the govt again.
The forests continue to be grossly mismanaged by the government. Those in charge are not working for the best interests of the citizenry or the environment. Even if you buy into the carbon dioxide climate change idiocy, how much carbon gets released into the air when massive amounts of trees vaporize in an inferno every year?