Whether piñons are alive or dead does not change the fact that we live in an area that is highly susceptible to fire. Fire is a part of our natural environment and dry conditions imposed by long-term drought increase the risk even more. As people move into this area they may be unaware of fire hazards.

Danger is high where green piñon trees grow closely together and are stressed by the drought. Risk is also elevated where piñon trees have recently died, though the danger is greatly reduced as needles fall off the dead trees. Fire will no longer burn from treetop to treetop, but will spread along the ground and will be easier to put out.

Even after the drought is over, there will be fire risk. Although the severity of the fire season varies from year to year, the “normal” fire season in Santa Fe is in May and June, before the monsoons arrive. May and June are typically the hottest and driest months, conditions that are compounded by high winds.

You can significantly reduce fire risk whether your property adjoins a thousand acres of national forest or you live in town. Everything you do to reduce forest fire fuels and make your home safe from fire can help.

In Santa Fe, residents of several neighborhoods have taken the initiative to thin property, which significantly reduces fire risk. You may have heard horror stories of how thinning destroys the aesthetics of your property. Thinning done well can increase the appeal of your property by improving tree health as well as significantly reduce risk of wildfire damage. For ideas on thinning, check out the thinning section of this web site or contact New Mexico State Forestry, City of Santa Fe Fire Department or the Santa Fe County Fire Department.

How Do I Assess My Fire Risk?
Look at your land and think about where a fire would ignite (i.e., what would be a possible cause of fire?). Then picture how it would move. From which direction are the prevailing winds? How steep are your slopes? How close together are the crowns (tops) of trees? Is there any ground vegetation?

Fire Facts (PDF)>>

Becoming Firewise in Santa Fe(PDF)>>

If you live within the City of Santa Fe, the riskiest things are likely to be:

• Firewood stacked next to the house
• Coniferous trees directly in front of windows
• Dense piñon and juniper trees on slopes leading up to the house
• Wood trim or fencing adjoining the house which could hold smoldering embers and catch fire
• Wood furniture or other decorative items close to the home

Outside the City of Santa Fe your fire risk may be increased by:

a) Wood shake roofs
b) Wooden decks (especially with vegetation growing under them)
c) Pine needles around the home and on the roof

The Wildland Urban Interface
The wildland urban interface (WUI) is commonly described as the zone where structures and other human development meet and intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels. Because these locations are highly desirable, more and more people are moving into interface areas. However, living here also increases the risk to your property should a forest fire break out. It’s wise to know some things you can do protect your property and your life.



It is important that people evaluate their situation well before a wildfire starts:

• Is your home ignition-resistant (adobe or stucco with a non-flammable roof)?
• If you tried to evacuate, what roads would you use, how wide are they and how many other people would be on them?
• Is a fire likely to start below you (so that your evacuation route might be blocked by the fire)?

The City of Santa Fe has a phone system called Dialogic, which is capable of calling many phone numbers simultaneously and leaving a message such as “You have time to evacuate, please leave your home now, ” or “The fire is too close, please stay in your home with windows and doors closed.” So, if there is a fire near you, please use mobile phones to make out-going calls and leave your main phone available for public safety officials to call you.

If there is time to evacuate, remember the five “P’s”: People, Pets, Pills, Pictures and Papers.

Click here for more information on evacuation » (PDF)

Click here for evacuation routes information »

Shelter in Place:
If you must stay in your home (also called “shelter in place”), it is important to stay calm and use common sense to save your life and the lives of others around you.


Wildfire Information
The Southwest Area Wildland Fire Operations website is an interagency site maintained by the Southwest Coordination Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is designed to provide general fire information for the public and to serve as a source of fire intelligence for the wildland fire community. This is a great site to find out about fire danger, fire restrictions or local weather forecasts. It also provides access to detailed data, graphics and maps describing wildfires burning across the nation.

The Southwest Area consists of State and Federal land management agencies in Arizona and New Mexico, and Federal units only in West Texas. Click here to learn more about the Southwest Area».

The New Mexico Fire Planning Task Force
The New Mexico Fire Planning Task Force was created by the 2003 New Mexico legislature to identify wildland urban interface areas most vulnerable to danger from forest fire in the State of New Mexico. Additionally, the Task Force works with local governments to develop minimum standards for building codes and ordinances that will reduce the threat of forest fires to those communities.

The New Mexico Fire Planning Task Force will annually review the Communities at Risk list, whether for the inclusion of new communities or the reduction of adjective ratings or ultimate removal of communities from the list.

The New Mexico Fire Plan can be found here »

Learn More

FIREWISE program »

National Fire Danger Map »

City of Santa Fe, Wildland Fire Hazard and Risk Analysis (city website) »

Santa Fe County, Wildland-Urban Interface Information (county website) »

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