Dome Fire
Smoke from the Dome Fire dominated this view from Los Alamos National Laboratory.
LocationJemez Mountains, New Mexico
Statistics
Total area16,516 acres (66.84 km2)
Date(s)April 26, 1996 - May 1996
CauseImproperly extinguished campfire

The Dome Fire was a destructive wildfire in the Jemez Mountains in the northern region of the U.S. state of New Mexico during the 1996 fire season.[1][2] It has been described by forester Bill Armstrong as "a wakeup call that nobody woke up to", anomalous at the time but an indicator of future high-intensity fires[3] that are becoming more common due to both local and global environmental changes.[4][5]

History

The Dome Fire exploded on April 26, 1996, starting from an improperly extinguished campfire.[6] Two men were later arrested after turning themselves in.[7] Devastating portions of the Santa Fe National Forest and Bandelier National Monument, it continued until 16,516 acres (6,684 ha) in Capulin Canyon and the Dome Wilderness were burned. High fuel loading, low fuel moisture, and wind contributed to the extremely rapid spread of the fire,[6][8] with flame lengths of hundreds of feet. It became a plume-dominated fire in which huge updrafts pulled burning embers high into the clouds and then collapsed.[3]

The National Park Service and United States Forest Service (USFS) sent in a type 1 incident management team.[9] Resources deployed included 15 fire engines, 7 water tenders, 7 helicopters, 5 air tankers, 4 bulldozers,[10] and at least 800 firefighters.[11] At one point, NPS and USFS personnel had to use fire shelters when their engines were overtaken by the fire.[9]

On May 1, 1996 it was reported that firefighters had used a controlled burn to prevent the fire from reaching Los Alamos National Laboratory.[12] The fire was contained in early May. By May 7, 1996, Bandelier National Monument was reopened to tourists.[13]

Impact

Conditions in the Dome Fire, such as flame length, rate of spread, and type of crown fire activity, were the most severe recorded between 1966 and 2009.[14] The fire was one of the nine largest in the area as of 2009.[5]

The fire had multiple ecological effects including fire-induced acceleration of erosion, landslides, and unprecedented postfire flooding.[15][6][16][17]

There was also damage to archaeological sites in the area. At least 523 identified cultural resource sites were within the area of the fire. Following a review, preservation attempts occurred at 56 of those sites, and materials were removed from 6 sites to study effects of the fire.[15][18][19]

The Dome Fire was significant for pointing out the problems of fighting fires on the Pajarito Plateau, particularly the dangers posed by rapidly spreading crown fires. The Dome Fire was the immediate inspiration for creation of the Inter-agency Wildfire Management Team[4] and for studies that predicted further fires in nearby areas such as Los Alamos National Laboratory.[20] Modified fire breaks were later cut along the sides of State Highway 501, which aided firefighters in the Cerro Grande Fire of 2000.[21]

Recovery

The area affected by the Dome Fire has become a focus for studies examining the ability of an area to recover from fire. While the period immediately following the fire was marked by erosion and flooding, there has been some evidence of increasing species richness and recovery in the second decade following the fire, after the risk of flash flooding events decreased.[22][23]

References

  1. ↑ "Wilderness Areas on the Santa Fe National Forest". USDA Forest Service. May 20, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2016.
  2. ↑ Nijhuis, Michelle (September 20, 2012). "Forest fires: Burn out". Nature News. 489 (7416): 352–354. Bibcode:2012Natur.489..352N. doi:10.1038/489352a. PMID 22996530.
  3. 1 2 Petryna, Adriana (10 November 2018). "Wildfires at the Edges of Science: Horizoning Work amid Runaway Change". Cultural Anthropology. 33 (4): 570–595. doi:10.14506/ca33.4.06. S2CID 150192757. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  4. 1 2 "A - Community Wildfire Protection Plan 2016 Los Alamos, New Mexico" (PDF). Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, New Mexico. p. 5. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  5. 1 2 Haire, Sandra L.; McGarigal, Kevin (August 2009). "Changes in Fire Severity across Gradients of Climate, Fire Size, and Topography: A Landscape Ecological Perspective" (PDF). Fire Ecology. 5 (2): 86–103. doi:10.4996/fireecology.0502086. S2CID 53985176. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 Cannon, Susan H. "Evaluation of the potential for debris and hyperconcentrated flows in Capulin Canyon as a result of the 1996 Dome fire, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  7. ↑ Baker, Deborah (April 30, 1996). "'Back Burn' Apparently Successful". AP NEWS. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  8. ↑ Johnson, George (30 April 1996). "Winds Strengthen Forest Fire in New Mexico". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  9. 1 2 National Park Service Department of the Interior (1996). 1996 Midland Fire Report (PDF). Boise, Idaho: National Park Service. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "Large fire in New Mexico". UPI. April 28, 1996. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "Winds expected to fuel New Mexico fire". UPI. April 30, 1996. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  12. ↑ "Fire Crews Block Blaze From Nuclear Lab". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. May 1, 1996. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  13. ↑ "Arizona fire forces evacuations". Washington Post. May 6, 1996. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  14. ↑ "Valles Caldera National Preserve: Wildland Fire Environment Existing Condition Report" (PDF). Valles Caldera National Preserve. 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  15. 1 2 Kohler, Timothy A. (2004). Archaeology of Bandelier National Monument: Village Formation on the Pajarito Plateau, New Mexico. Albuquerque, NM: UNM Press. ISBN 978-0-8263-3082-6. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  16. ↑ Cannon, Susan H.; Ellis, William L.; Godt, Jonathan W. (1998). valuation of the landslide potential in Capulin Canyon following the Dome Fire, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico : Open-File Report 98-42 (PDF). US Geological Survey. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  17. ↑ DeGraff, Jerome V.; Cannon, Susan H.; Gartner, Joseph E. (November 2015). "The Timing of Susceptibility to Post-Fire Debris Flows in the Western United States". Environmental & Engineering Geoscience. 21 (4): 277–292. Bibcode:2015EEGeo..21..277D. doi:10.2113/gseegeosci.21.4.277.
  18. ↑ "Fire threatens Indian artifacts in New Mexico". Washington Post. April 29, 1996. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  19. ↑ "N.M. fire threatens Indian sites". Lawrence Journal-World. Associated Press. April 29, 1996. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  20. ↑ Davis, Tony Davis (5 June 2000). "The West's hottest question: How to burn what's bound to burn". High Country News. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  21. ↑ Paxon, Jim (2000). "Remember Los Alamos: The Cerro Grande Fire". Fire Management Today. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 60 (4). Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  22. ↑ Leonard, Jackson M.; Magaña, Hugo A.; Bangert, Randy K.; Neary, Daniel G.; Montgomery, Willson L. (December 2017). "Fire and Floods: The Recovery of Headwater Stream Systems Following High-Severity Wildfire". Fire Ecology. 13 (3): 62–84. doi:10.4996/fireecology.130306284. ISSN 1933-9747. S2CID 89973174. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  23. ↑ Vieira, Nicole K. M.; Barnes, Tiffany R.; Mitchell, Katharine A. (August 2011). "Effects of Wildfire and Postfire Floods on Stonefly Detritivores of the Pajarito Plateau, New Mexico". Western North American Naturalist. 71 (2): 257–270. doi:10.3398/064.071.0213. ISSN 1527-0904. S2CID 53678960. Retrieved 18 March 2022.

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