Wildfire, Taos
- When
- May 6, 12:00 PM MST to May 11, 6:00 PM MST
- Where
- Taos County, Lama
- Property damage
- $1.5 million
- Coordinates
- 36.578, -105.631 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in New Mexico, May 6 to 11, 1996
An escaped trash fire developed into a wind-driven raging forest fire exacerbated by hot temperatures and some of the driest fuel moisture conditions in 30 years. The fire exhibited extreme behavior and had consumed nearly 7000 acres of national forest within the first 24 hours.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $1.5 million
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS ABQ wrote it up.
An escaped trash fire developed into a wind-driven raging forest fire exacerbated by hot temperatures and some of the driest fuel moisture conditions in 30 years. The fire exhibited extreme behavior and had consumed nearly 7000 acres of national forest within the first 24 hours. The fire destroyed over 30 structures and forced evacuations at both Questa and Red River.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Wildfire
- A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flood in Virginia, May 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, May 6, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Virginia, May 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, May 6, 1996
- Tornado in North Carolina, May 6, 1996
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, May 6, 1996
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, May 6, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Texas, May 6, 1996
- Hail in Alabama, May 6, 1996
- Lightning Strike in South Carolina, May 6, 1996
- Heat in Alaska, May 6, 1996
- Heat in Alaska, May 6, 1996
More
Every storm in New Mexico in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, May 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5551860.