The Dome Fire was a destructive

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

in the

Jemez Mountains The Jemez Mountains are a group of mountains in Rio Arriba, Sandoval, and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico, United States. Numerous Puebloan Indian tribes have lived in the Jemez Mountains region since before the Spanish arrived in New Mexico. T ...

in the northern region of 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 sover ...

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, Ker ...

during the 1996 fire season. 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 that are becoming more common due to both local and global environmental changes.

History

The Dome Fire exploded on April 26, 1996, starting from an improperly extinguished campfire. Two men were later arrested after turning themselves in. Devastating portions of the

Santa Fe National Forest The Santa Fe National Forest is a protected United States National Forest, national forest in northern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. It was established in 1915 and covers . Elevations range from 5,300 feet (1600 m) to 13,103 ...

and

Bandelier National Monument Bandelier National Monument is a United States National Monument near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico. The monument preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans of a later era in the Southwest. Most ...

, it continued until 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, 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. The National Park Service and United States Forest Service (USFS) sent in a type 1 incident management team. Resources deployed included 15 fire engines, 7 water tenders, 7 helicopters, 5 air tankers, 4 bulldozers, and at least 800 firefighters. At one point, NPS and USFS personnel had to use fire shelters when their engines were overtaken by the fire. On May 1, 1996 it was reported that firefighters had used a controlled burn to prevent the fire from reaching

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...

. The fire was contained in early May. By May 7, 1996, Bandelier National Monument was reopened to tourists.

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. The fire was one of the nine largest in the area as of 2009. The fire had multiple ecological effects including fire-induced acceleration of erosion, landslides, and unprecedented postfire flooding. 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. The Dome Fire was significant for pointing out the problems of fighting fires on the

Pajarito Plateau The Pajarito Plateau is a volcanic plateau in north central New Mexico, United States. The plateau, part of the Jemez Mountains, is bounded on the west by the Sierra de los Valles, the range forming the east rim of the Valles Caldera, and on the ea ...

, 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 and for studies that predicted further fires in nearby areas such as

. Modified fire breaks were later cut along the sides of State Highway 501, which aided firefighters in the

Cerro Grande Fire The Cerro Grande Fire was a disastrous forest fire in New Mexico, United States of America, that occurred in May 2000. The fire started as a controlled burn, and became uncontrolled owing to high winds and drought conditions. Over 400 f ...

of 2000.

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.

References

{{New Mexico wildfires Wildfires in New Mexico 1996 fires in the United States 1996 in New Mexico 1990s wildfires in the United States Jemez Mountains Santa Fe National Forest 1996 natural disasters in the United States