2018 fire season - how is impacting you?
Well, first they closed the NF around our cabin; locked the gates to all the FS roads. We have a key and can go to our property but once there we are restricted to our three acres. We had plans to go to Pagosa Springs in CO and stay in some friends vacant condo. It is a lovely area, lots to do, trails to hike. Tomorrow morning the FS will lockup the San Juan NF, all 1.8 million acres. You can drive the highways and most county roads but no forest trails access. Not a lot of the things that make the drive worthwhile will be available, though there are some small restaurants we like in Pagosa Springs. A long way to go for dinner.
So today I painted the kitchen ceiling. :-\
Cibola NF is closing completely Friday.
Interesting that the Forest Service is opting to completely close forests this year in New Mexico. I wonder if it reflects reduced firefighting resources? So far, no fires in the Jemez, so the closures may be having the desired effect, given that 85 abandoned campfires were found over the long weekend despite the Stage 2 burn restrictions.
I can access my camp, but no campfires until some rains fall. It is scary dry in western New Mexico. Hurricane Bud is heading for AZ and maybe NM this weekend. I hope it brings an early monsoon pattern. Wife works for the Army Corps and their projections are that these droughts are only going to get worse going forward.
Our spring has been wet and cool so far.
No burn restrictions for us as of yet. [cool]
In the last couple of years, the Santa Fe NF has spent something like 50% of its annual budget on wildfire suppression. I forget the exact number but it was about half, IIRC.
We had some friends who are Cal Fire over and they asked if we were staying again this year. I told them I would not leave unless they had an engine here and a guarantee that it would not leave after I did. They laughed as they said "you know all of outr tricks" ;)