Abundant moisture this winter has created healthy snow packs in the southwest, which bodes well for rafters, boaters and gardeners this spring and summer. But spring in New Mexico also means winds and increased risk of fire.
With that in mind, the Laboratory, through the Interagency Wildifire Management Team, is co-sponsoring the annual Wildfire 2005 public information meeting beginning at 5 p.m., April 27 in Fuller Lodge. The meeting is free and open to the public. Fuller Lodge is located at 2132 Central Ave.
Los Alamos County is co-sponsoring “Wildfire 2005: Layers of Protection, Now and Beyond,” which features presentations from the Laboratory, the county, Bandelier National Monument, San Ildefonso Pueblo and the U.S. Forest Service. Wildfire 2005 begins with a poster session and exhibits from 5 to 6 p.m. Presentations follow from 6 to 8 p.m., with a question-and-answer session scheduled from 7:30 to 8 p.m., said Randy Balice of Ecology (ENV-ECO), forest and fire ecologist and liaison to the Interagency Wildifire Management Team.
Balice and Sam Loftin of ENV-ECO and Manny L’Esperance from Emergency Management and Response (EMR) will discuss current and future fire conditions on Laboratory property.
Los Alamos County Deputy Fire Chief Doug Tucker will make opening remarks. Other presentations scheduled include Jim Whittington of Bandelier National Monument discussing National Park Service activities and providing a seasonal fire outlook for Bandelier; David Isackson of the Forest Service discussing forest service fuels mitigation projects; Steve Coburn and Craig Martin from Los Alamos County discussing county fire mitigation activities and open space issues; and James Pena of San Ildefonso Pueblo talking about fire mitigation activities on pueblo lands.
Earlier that day, the Los Alamos County defensible space project is sponsoring events in Fuller Lodge, including a coloring contest for kindergarten through fifth-grade students, Sparky the Fire Dog and Smokey Bear and the county fire department’s education trailer and fire trucks. The defensible space project, a county program under the direction of the Fire Department, was implemented at the end of 2002 in response to the Cerro Grande Fire. By the end of 2003, the project successfully helped protect more than 2,300 properties in Los Alamos and White Rock from future wildfire threat and thousands of residents throughout the county were and continue to be educated about the concepts of defensible space.
For information about the Wildfire 2005 public meeting, contact Balice at 5-1270. For more information about the defensible space project, contact Susan DiMauro-Roeser at (505) 681-2358 or go to www.lac-defensiblespace.us online.
