User:Gdoehne/Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire

The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire is a large, active wildfire burning in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains in San Miguel County and Mora County, New Mexico, east of Santa Fe in the United States as part of the 2022 New Mexico wildfire season. The fire was formed from the combination of two wildfires—the Hermits Peak Fire and the Calf Canyon Fire—which ignited separately, but merged together during extreme fire weather conditions on April 22, 2022. Afterwards, the two fires were managed as a single incident or fire complex. As of May 1, 2022, the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire has burned 103,908 acre and is 30% contained. The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire is the third largest wildfire in recorded history in New Mexico, after the 2012 Whitewater-Baldy Fire Complex and the 2011 Las Conchas Fire.

Events
On April 6, 2022, personnel with the Santa Fe National Forest conducted a controlled burn project in the Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District of the Forest. Controlled or prescribed burns are commonly conducted in New Mexico and elsewhere to help thin out built-up wildfire fuels and balance ecosystems that depend on the occasional introduction of fire. However, erratic winds in the afternoon of April 6 caused spot fires to ignite outside the project boundary, and the prescribed burn was declared a wildfire. A U.S. Forest Service official apologized on behalf of the agency for causing the wildfire. It was officially named the Hermits Peak Fire, after the nearby mountain of the Sangre de Cristo range called Hermit Peak. Crews worked to contain the incident, and by April 19, the Hermits Peak Fire had burned 7,573 acres and was 91% contained.

On April 19, a new fire ignited several miles to the west of the Hermits Peak Fire, also within the Santa Fe National Forest. It was officially named the Calf Canyon Fire, after the nearby Calf Canyon Road. The cause of the fire is currently unknown. The fire grew to 123 acres by April 21st, and that evening made a run to the north, growing significantly.

On the morning of Friday, April 22, the Hermits Peak Fire was 7,573 acres and 91% contained. The Calf Canyon Fire was 3,000 acres and 0% contained. That same day, the region entered sustained critical fire weather conditions. A red flag warning was issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) extending from 9:00 AM to midnight local time, including winds from 60-74 miles per hour and temperatures in the upper 70s. The two fires grew rapidly to the northeast, exhibiting extreme fire behavior such as crowning and long-range spotting. Many structures were lost. The two fires merged as the winds fanned them, combining into a single fire footprint of approximately 42,341 acres by April 23. The two fires have been managed together since then, with a single acreage and containment number reported for the incident.

Severe fire weather conditions continued over the following week, and the now combined Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire grew thousands of acres each day, becoming the third largest wildfire in recorded New Mexico state history. As of May 1, 2022, the blaze is over 100,000 acres and 30% contained.

Impacts
No injuries or fatalities have yet been reported as a result of the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire. However, hundreds of structures have been damaged or destroyed, and damage assessments are ongoing. Approximately 6,000 New Mexico residents have been forced to evacuate, including portions of the community of Las Vegas (not to be confused with the Las Vegas of the same name in Nevada).

Smoke from the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire, in addition to the Cerro Pelado Fire and Cooks Peak Fire, has contributed to poor air quality throughout northern New Mexico.

Progression and containment status
Acreage and containment figures here are for the Hermits Peak Fire only, until April 23, when statistics for the two initial fires began being reported together.