Last updated: December 5, 2019
Article
Maintaining a Fire Resilient Landscape at El Malpais National Monument
NPS photo
Firefighters protected private property while allowing the Lava 18 Fire to play its natural role on public lands. The lightning-ignited fire was reported on August 22, 2019. It was located approximately 19 miles southwest of Grants, NM. The Lava 18 Fire eventually grew to approximately 2,070 acres (858 ac on the National Park Service (NPS) El Malpais National Monument and 1,212 acres on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) El Malpais National Conservation area).
NPS photo
Fire managers monitored the fire where it played its natural role in the ecosystem and were prepared to take action as needed to protect private land and sensitive natural and cultural resources in the area as needed.
Firefighters conducted strategic burnout operations for approximately three miles along a handline and the 100 Road, east of the fire, to create a buffer of burned vegetation between the fireline and the main body of fire. This helped prevent the fire from spreading to the east onto private land.
Once strategic firing operations on the east side of the fire were complete, the fire gradually grew until extinguished naturally as relative humidity increased and the fire area received rain.
NPS photo
This fire played an important role in maintaining a healthy forest and ensuring the resiliency of the fire dependent landscape. It created a mosaic of burned and unburned vegetation, which increases habitat diversity and breaks up continuous fuels on the forest floor (branches, fallen trees, etc.) which can help limit or slow the intensity and spread of large wildfires and associated smoke in the future.
Cooperators included New Mexico State Forestry, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the U.S. Forest service. Vegetation in the area consisted mostly of ponderosa pine and mixed grasses, with some Douglas fir, piñon, and juniper in places.