2024 New Mexico wildfires | |
---|---|
Impacts | |
Deaths | 2 |
Structures destroyed | 900+ damaged or destroyed |
Damage | >$1.2 billion [1] |
Season | |
← 2023 |
The 2024 New Mexico wildfire season is an ongoing series of notable wildfires that have been burning throughout the U.S. state of New Mexico.
The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 ha), or produced significant structural damage or casualties.
Name | County | Acres | Start date | Containment date | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blue 2 | Lincoln | 7,532 | May 17 | September 11 | Fire caused by lightning on Lincoln National Forest. | [2] [3] |
Indios | Rio Arriba | 11,477 | May 19 | August 2 | Fire caused by lightning on Santa Fe National Forest and managed for ecological benefit. | [4] [5] |
Antone | Catron | 12,455 | June 7 | July 30 | Fire caused by lightning on Gila National Forest and managed for ecological benefit. | [6] [7] |
Encerrita | Cibola | 2,496 | June 15 | August 28 | Fire was caused by lightning on El Malpais National Monument. | [8] |
South Fork | Otero & Lincoln | 17,569 | June 17 | August 26 | A mandatory evacuation order was issued for all of Ruidoso. Approximately 1,400 structures were lost, and two fatalities were reported. | [9] [10] |
Ridge | Catron | 4,257 | July 2 | September 19 | Fire caused by lightning on the Gila National Forest. | [11] |
Fisher | Socorro | 8,044 | July 4 | July 21 | Fire caused by lightning on the Cibola National Forest and managed for ecological benefit. | [12] [13] |
Paramount | Sierra | 1,328 | July 12 | August 19 | Fire caused by lightning on the Gila National Forest. | [14] |
In the summer of 2013, there were several major wildfires in Colorado in the United States. During June and July, record high temperatures and dry conditions fueled the fires all across the state. By July 24, 570 structures had been destroyed and 2 people died. Below is a list of the major fires of the year.
The 2014 Washington wildfires were a series of 1,480 wildfires that burned 386,972 acres (1,566 km2) over the course of 2014. The first occurred primarily on the east side of the Cascade Range in Chelan and Okanogan counties. The fires burned private land, state land, and within the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests, ultimately covering over 350,000 acres. The first fire began on July 8 near the Entiat River. On July 14 a lightning storm started dozens more fires across the eastern Cascade Range. Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency, activating the Washington National Guard. More lightning strikes later in the summer started additional fires.
The Lions Fire was a wildfire in the Ansel Adams Wilderness in Inyo National Forest and the Sierra National Forest in California in the United States. The fire was started by a lightning strike and first reported on June 11, 2018. The fire impacted recreational activities in both national forests, as well as access to Devils Postpile National Monument. The Lions Fire burned a total of 13,347 acres (54 km2), before burning out on October 1.
The Georges Fire was a wildfire in Inyo County, California in the United States. The fire was reported on July 8, 2018 in a rural area north of Lone Pine and west of Manzanar. The fire was started by a lightning strike and impacted recreational activities in the Inyo National Forest, as well as the habitat for Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, an endangered species. The fire burned 2,883 acres (12 km2), before burning out on July 18.
The Walker Fire was a wildfire that burned near Genesee Valley in the Plumas National Forest approximately 11 miles east of the community of Taylorsville in Plumas County, California. The blaze was reported on Wednesday, September 4, 2019 and immediately expanded in size over its several days of burning. The fire actively threatened homes from Genesee Valley to Antelope Road.
Vics Peak Fire was wildfire that burned in the Apache Kid Wilderness in the Cibola National Forest in New Mexico, United States. First reported on June 15, 2020, the fire was started by a lightning strike. The fire burned 14,624 acres (5,918 ha). It was contained on August 4, 2020. The fire threatened private property, utilities infrastructure, and natural resources in the area, including the habitat of the Mexican spotted owl. It also impacted recreational activities in the area due to trail and campground closures.
The Western United States experienced a series of major wildfires in 2020. Severe August thunderstorms ignited numerous wildfires across California, Oregon, and Washington, followed in early September by additional ignitions across the West Coast. Fanned by strong, gusty winds and fueled by hot, dry terrains, many of the fires exploded and coalesced into record-breaking megafires, burning more than 10.2 million acres of land, mobilizing tens of thousands of firefighters, razing over ten thousand buildings, and killing at least 37 people. The fires caused over $19.884 billion in damages, including $16.5 billion in property damage and $3.384 billion in fire suppression costs. Climate change and poor forest management practices contributed to the severity of the wildfires.
The 2020 Lassen County wildfire season included seven large wildfires that burned entirely or in part in Lassen County. A total of 203,296 acres (82,271 ha) of land was burned in Lassen County, making it one of the larger clusters of fires in the 2020 California wildfire season.
The Johnson Fire was a wildfire that started in Gila National Forest near Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument and the town of Silver City, New Mexico on May 20, 2021. The fire burned 88,918 acres (35,984 ha) and was fully contained on July 23, 2021. It was the largest wildfire in the United States of the 2021 wildfire season until June 6, 2021.
The 2021 Oregon wildfire season began in May 2021. More than 1,000 fires had burned at least 518,303 acres (209,750 ha) across the state as of July 21, 2021. As of August 1, it was expected that the fires might not be contained for months.
The 2021 Arizona wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned across the state of Arizona, United States. Wildfires across the state burned 524,428 acres (212,228 ha) of land in at least 1,773 fires throughout the state, fueled in part by a drought, hot temperatures, and thunderstorms producing dry lightning. At one point in late June, over 20 active wildfires were burning across the state.
The 2021 New Mexico wildfire season began in February 7, 2021. As of July 7, there have been at least 363 fires across the state that have burned at least 121,277 acres (49,079 ha).
The Tamarack Fire was a wildfire that burned 68,637 acres (27,776 ha), primarily in the Mokelumne Wilderness in Alpine County, California, Douglas County, Nevada and Lyon County, Nevada, as part of the 2021 California wildfire season.
The River Complex 2021 was a wildfire complex burning in Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County, California in the United States. The complex comprises over 20 wildfires that started as a result of lightning strikes during a series of thunderstorms in late July 2021. As of 25 October 2021, the fire had burned a total of 199,343 acres (80,671 ha) and became 100% contained. The largest fires in the complex were the Haypress–Summer Fire and the Cronan Fire.
The 2022 New Mexico wildfire season were a series of wildfires which burnt throughout the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of December 13, 2022, 904,422 acres (366,007 ha) had burned across the state. The burned acreage figure for 2022 is well above the 1995-2015 average of approximately 270,000 acres burned annually. with the fire season in the state expected to continue until the advent of the regular North American Monsoon weather pattern throughout the Southwestern United States in the summer.
The 2022 Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire was the largest and most destructive wildfire in the history of New Mexico. The fire burned 341,471 acres between early April and late June in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, in San Miguel, Mora, and Taos counties. It was the most significant fire of the record-breaking 2022 New Mexico wildfire season, as well as the largest wildfire of the year in the contiguous United States. The fire destroyed at least 903 structures, including several hundred homes, and damaged 85 more.
The Cerro Pelado Fire was a wildfire that burned in the southern Jemez Mountains in Sandoval County, southwest of Los Alamos, in the state of New Mexico in the United States as part of the 2022 New Mexico wildfire season. The cause of the fire was determined to be an escaped prescribed burn started by the US Forest Service. The wildfire started on April 22, 2022, during extreme fire weather conditions. As of 15 June 2022, the Cerro Pelado Fire has burned 45,605 acres (18,456 ha) and is 100% contained.
The Black Fire was a massive wildfire that burned in the northern Black Range in Sierra County, Catron County, and Grant County, Northeast of Silver City, in the state of New Mexico in the United States as part of the 2022 New Mexico wildfire season.
The 2024 Oregon wildfire season is an ongoing series of wildfires that have been burning throughout the U.S. state of Oregon.
The South Fork Fire was a wildfire in New Mexico that burned 17,569 acres (7,110 ha) before being declared 99% contained as of July 15, 2024. The fire began on June 17 near the town of Ruidoso and grew very rapidly, surpassing 15,000 acres burned by the following day and destroying at least 1400 houses and structures. Investigators have stated that a lightning strike caused the fire.