2022 New Mexico wildfires

2022 New Mexico wildfires
Satellite imagery from GOES-16 shows smoke plumes from multiple wildfires in northern New Mexico moving east into Texas during a wind event on April 29, 2022.
Statistics
Total area899,453 acres (363,996 ha)[1]
Impacts
Deaths2
DamageUnknown
Season
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2023 →

The 2022 New Mexico wildfire season were a series of wildfires which burnt throughout the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of December 13, 2022, 904,422 acres (366,007 ha) had burned across the state.[2] The burned acreage figure for 2022 is well above the 1995-2015 average of approximately 270,000 acres burned annually. with the fire season in the state expected to continue until the advent of the regular North American Monsoon weather pattern throughout the Southwestern United States in the summer.[3][4]

A number of factors contributed to the severe wildfire season. The majority of the state is experiencing extreme to exceptional drought conditions as part of a broader severe drought in the North American west, fueled by climate change.[5] A reduced 2021-2022 winter snowpack, long periods of higher-than-normal temperatures, and sustained strong winds have resulted in extreme fire conditions and a number of major incidents.[6][7][4]

The season has seen a large number of significant wildfires.[8] In early April 2022, the McBride Fire destroyed over 200 structures and killed two people. Since April 2022, the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire grew to become the largest fire in New Mexico history.[9] It destroyed over 900 structures. Starting in May the Black Fire (2022), and ending in late July, burned in the Gila National Forest northeast of Silver City. The fire consumed some 325,000 acres and became the second-largest wildfire in state history. [10] Thousands of state residents were forced to evacuate for extended periods of times, and the fires produced smoke plumes with severe effects on air quality and health throughout New Mexico.[11]

  1. ^ "2022 Year-to-Date Wildland Fires > 100 Acres" (PDF). Southwest Coordination Center. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  2. ^ "2022 Year-to-Date Wildland Fires > 100 Acres" (PDF). Southwest Coordination Center. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  3. ^ "SWCC | Predictive Services | Intelligence | Historical Fire Data". gacc.nifc.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  4. ^ a b Miller, Elizabeth; Samenow, Jason (May 5, 2022). "Large fires are raging in New Mexico, and the worst may be coming". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  5. ^ "U.S. Drought Monitor New Mexico". droughtmonitor.unl.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  6. ^ Garrett, Monica (2022-04-27). "It is only April, and New Mexico has already seen a year's worth of fire activity that will worsen starting today". CNN. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  7. ^ "Destructive wildfires in New Mexico trigger emergency declaration". NPR. Associated Press. 2022-04-24. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  8. ^ agencies, Staff and (2022-04-24). "One dead and thousands forced to flee as wildfires sweep across US". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  9. ^ "U.S. Forest Service Planned Burn Caused Largest New Mexico Wildfire". The New York Times. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  10. ^ SW MORNING SITUATION REPORT (SMSR). Retrieved 2022-06-16
  11. ^ Silva, Claudia L. (May 12, 2022). "Smoke from New Mexico wildfires could have serious impact on health". The Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved May 16, 2022.