Drought measurements could close forest

JEMEZ SPRINGS, N.M. (KRQE) - The fire danger is rising in the Jemez Ranger District, and the U.S. Forest Service has started preliminary steps to lock out the public until things get better.

A decision to close a forest is not only based on what rangers see.  It is also based on very precise scientific measurements.

Todd Lurke and Larry Chinana with the Forest Service know the moisture pulse of the Jemez, and they do not get it by checking rain gauges.

"We're gonna go ahead and take some sample of this ponderosa pine," Chinana said as he pulled out a pair of scissors.

Once a week the two men clip the trees and saw the twigs.

With their samples they will figure out exactly how dry all the fuels in the forest are, and a small sample can have a big impact.

"They give us a good indication as far as what we are going to have to utilize for tactics to engage the fire," Lurke said. "Whether we go with the direct, whether we go to the fire's edge and construct hand lines."

If the fuels are too dry, they will burn too hot, and crews must attack from afar with air resources.

After getting their fire ingredients, Larry and Todd head to their office to cook.

Samples are weighed,recorded and then baked for a day in an oven.

Then the twigs and brush are weighed again.

The difference in weight is how much moisture was in the fuel.

"We look for values up above 16 percent," Lurke said.

But right now many of the fuels have a moisture content of 4 percent, about as dry it can get.  That means if those fuels caught fire, they would burn quickly and intensely.

Drought conditions in the Jemez are as bad as they were for the Las Conchas Fire last year.

Forest officials said with drought and the potential threat from campers, the risk may be too great to keep the forest open.

The Jemez will be open for the Fourth of July holiday, but without significant rain soon, it may not be open much longer.