N.M. investigators seek origin of on-going Trigo Fire

By Laura Nesbitt
The Mountain View Telegraph

TRIGO CANYON, N.M. — Fire investigators have been actively investigating the cause of the human-caused Trigo Fire which burned a total of 13,709 acres since it began on April 15.

"Investigators have determined there were individuals present in Trigo Canyon during the morning of the day the fire began and are currently attempting to locate these individuals.

"Investigators believe these individuals may possibly have information that could further the investigation," Jim Payne, lead fire information officer, said in an e-mail.

Investigators would like to speak with anyone who was in the Trigo Canyon area or who may know of someone who was in the area several days before the fire was discovered, on the night of April 14 or on the morning of April 15, Payne said.

Individuals with that information should contact the USDA Forest Service at 842-FIRE (3473).

The Trigo Fire is now 100 percent contained, meaning that it is entirely surrounded by barriers which will deprive it of fuel, said Dick Birger, fire information officer.

"Its forward progress has been halted, but that doesn't mean that it's controlled," meaning completely "out and cold," Birger said.

Forestry officials have said that the fire will not be completely out until snows blanket the area.

A Burned Area Emergency Response team (BAER) is just getting started on "an inventory of the damage" to the burned area, Birger said.

"It really is an emergency response. The idea is to get in as quickly as possible. Everyone knows the longer it takes, the worse the damage becomes," Birger said.

The BAER team may take measurements of topsoil lost, estimate what could be put in place on mountain slopes to reduce erosion and to stabilize slopes, recommend seed mixtures, examine any historical and archaeological damage, and determine what can be done to mitigate any impact on the watershed, Birger said.

"The idea is to restore ground cover and leave soil unexposed for the shortest amount of time," Birger said.

Telecommunications equipment on Capilla Peak was also affected by the fire. Most customers did not experience loss of service until backup generators had run out of fuel, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Central New Mexico Electric Cooperative lost "a total dollar figure of over $100,000 just in the miles of line alone" in the fire, said Matthew Collins, chief operating officer.

The dollar figure represents a total of 30,000 feet of wire or five miles of line, Collins said.

There should be no environmental hazard associated with the burned wire, which was not copper, and transformers were PCB-free and poles were made out of wood, Collins said.

According to Collins, CNME is responsible for building the power lines back to the area and companies that lost equipment will be responsible for that equipment.

CNME officials were not able to get Federal Emergency Management Agency money, but were able to secure state money through the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Collins said.

The cooperative plans to have the power lines back in place before the end of July.