The 2022 New Mexico wildfire season is an ongoing series of

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

s burning throughout the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

. , had burned across the state. 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 The North American monsoon, variously known as the Southwest monsoon, the Mexican monsoon, the New Mexican monsoon, or the Arizona monsoon is a pattern of pronounced increase in thunderstorms and rainfall over large areas of the southwestern Uni ...

weather pattern throughout the Southwestern United States in the summer. 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 In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

. 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. The season has seen a large number of significant wildfires. 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. 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. 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.

List of wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 ha), produced significant structural damage or casualties, or were otherwise notable.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Mexico wildfires, 2022 *

Wildfires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

2022 meteorology Lists of wildfires in the United States

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

List of wildfires

See also

References