An Unnecessary Tragedy: The New Mexico Hermit’s Peak Fire
2 hours ago
From the Cliff Mass Weather Blog
Cliff Mass
On April 6, a wildfire was accidentally ignited by U.S. Forest Service personnel doing a prescribed burn near Hermit’s Peak, New Mexico.
A prescribed burn is a deliberately set fire intended to reduce the potential for catastrophic wildfires by burning off surface fuels during conditions unlikely to cause an uncontrollable wildfire.
This Hermit’s Peak fire began about 30 miles east of Santa Fe and 15 miles northwest of Las Vegas, NM. Joining another escaped fire two weeks later (the Calf Canyon Fire), the Hermit’s Peak fire has now burned 342,000 acres and destroyed over 900 structures.
The area of the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire as of June 27
The cost of fighting the fire is now over 250 million dollars and the total damage, all the responsibility of the Federal government, will easily range into the billions of dollars.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/06/29/an-unnecessary-tragedy-the-new-mexico-hermits-peak-fire/
