Wildfire in New Mexico, April 25 to 30, 1996

Winds and extremely dry conditions on the 26th and 27th exacerbated small fires into a ranging firestorms which grew from less than several hundred acres to 2000-3000 acres in less than 6 hours. The Dome Fire, south of Los Alamos, was sparked by embers from an unattended camp fire on the 25th. By early afternoon of the 26th the fire had spread to about 200 acres. The fire then intensified explosively during the mid and late afternoon in low humidity of 5 percent and gusty winds of 25 to 35 mph to engulf 3500 acres by early evening. Erratic and gusty winds fanned the flames throughout the night and on through the 27th. The Dome Fire spread to over 14000 acres by the 28th but slowed considerably in cooler temperatures and light winds which allowed aerial tanker attack and effective backfires on the 29th and 30th. At the peak, over 1000 fire fighters with 11 planes and helicopters were used to fight the Dome blaze and cost estimates for fire control had reached $4 million. No structures or houses were lost, but several remote Indian artifact sites were damage when the fire raced into western areas of the Bandelier National Monument. Two other human caused fires northwest of Raton and south of Socorro were also whipped out of control by dry, gusty winds. Each consumed about 2500 acres.