Albuquerque Journal
SANTA FE, N.M. — Fire crews working the Tres Lagunas Fire have more to worry about than just putting out a blaze that has consumed more than 10,000 acres. They also have to deal with rock snot.
And it will take more than a tissue to make sure the stuff doesn’t spread from the Pecos River area where the fire has been burning.
With the blaze now at least 60 percent contained and fire suppression efforts being ramped down, crews, some of which came from Arizona, Colorado and California, are being released so they can go back home.
But before they do, they have to decontaminate all water-handling equipment to prevent the spread of whirling disease, which affects trout populations, and an invasive species of algae known as rock snot.
“We’re decontaminating hoses, pumps, fire engines, water tenders or any other appliances that have contacted water used to fight this fire,” said Dennis Stern, a task force leader on the Tres Lagunas Fire."We’re trying to protect the surrounding environment that we’re working here, so we don’t participate in the spreading of either the rock snot or whirling disease.”
According to information from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, rock snot, also known as didymosphenia geninata or didymo for short, is an aquatic nuisance algae with a dense, nasty mat that can harm native algae and invertebrates, the food base for native sport fish.
The alga are capable of changing water chemistry and hydrology and threaten native habitat, aquatic insects and fish populations. The algae can undergo explosive growth on rocks and stream gravel that can be transferred on boats, fishing equipment and footwear.
The algae were first reported in North America on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in the late 19th century. The algae have spread throughout the West but only recently have been detected in New Mexico.
A small amount of the brownish-gray fibrous growth was first identified by the state Environmental Department from a sample taken from the San Juan River near Bloomfield about 10 years ago. The first confirmed didymo algae bloom documented by the state was discovered in the upper Pecos River near Cowles, near the Tres Lagunas Fire area, in 2008. Whirling disease is a protozoan parasite found in river or stream headwaters that attacks the spinal columns of trout, causing circular swimming behavior and reducing their mobility and fertility.
Like rock snot, it can be transferred on unwashed fishing tackle and waders. Neither rock snot nor whirling disease is a threat to humans, even if they eat fish infected by the maladies. Task force leader Stern said the decontamination process began over the weekend. He said engines and water tenders have been flushed with a solution made of bleach and water, which is reclaimed at the other end.
Smaller equipment, such as hoses and fittings, are soaked in buckets of bleach solution. The reclaimed water and holding tanks will be hauled off to be disinfected elsewhere.
Bleach solution used decontamination operations are being performed in the mornings. Stern said it typically takes 15 to 20 minutes to flush out a truck and just a few minutes of soaking to decontaminate smaller equipment. “It’s a pretty smooth operation,” he said. “This is the behind-the-scenes activity that doesn’t get the glamour of fighting the fire.”
Stern said he expected to continue the process for another two or three days. “We’ll continue to work through it until all the equipment has been treated,” he said. A lightningsparked fire quickly grows to hundreds of acres.
Copyright 2013 Albuquerque Journal
All Rights Reserved