Rowe Mesa wildfire becomes ‘controlled burn’

After lightning ignited a small fire on Rowe Mesa southeast of Santa Fe, Santa Fe National Forest managers decided to expand the blaze into a much larger “controlled burn” rather than extinguish it immediately.

The Palmer Fire began Sept. 12 in a mostly grassy meadow speckled with ponderosa pine and piñon-juniper, between the Pecos and Las Vegas ranger districts.

The fire covered just 35 acres, but the Forest Service said it intends to vastly increase the burn to 11,500 acres.

“Fire crews will take necessary steps to protect nearby private property and infrastructure on two grazing allotments,” Santa Fe National Forest spokeswoman Julie Anne Overton said in a news release.

The Forest Service said traffic would be delayed on some roads and areas for firewood collection would be closed off to the public during the burn.

The release said managing the natural fire into a larger burn “mimics the natural process” of fire on the land, which removes leaves, kills tree disease and thins the forest, “making room for new growth.”

Smoke is expected to be visible along Interstate 25 from Pecos, Rowe, Ilfeld, San Juan and San Jose. The Forest Service advised smoke-sensitive people and those with heart conditions to take precautions and said air quality would be monitored by the state Environment Department.