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Fire and Departmental News

This Page Provides Local Fire and EMS News and Information
For Regional Fire & Rescue Information See Links At Bottom Of Page

8/25/02 Annual Public Open House and picnic. We had great food, a raffel, educational programs, fun, games, and nice opportunities to see all the trucks and gear. For the last several years, this has been the largest annual social event in the district, and this year was no exception. The attendance broke all previous records. Thank you to all who participated in the raffle. We broke our previous year records for funds raised.
8/11/02 An Unattended Campfire was left burning by campers who departed Las Petacas campground. Fire department personel put it out. If you use the campsites, please note: It is a bad idea to leave your camp fire going when you go home. It is also a bad idea to leave your campfire going when you leave to go hiking or go to sleep. Gusts of wind can make bad situations from these types of conditions very quickly. Make sure your campfire is completely out before leaving it. Remeber, we are still in a drought, and the primary source of water for fire fighting in this district, the creek, is currently dry throughout most of the area.
8/11/02 Annual Door to Door Fundraising and neighbor meeting day was a great success. We brought in over $3000 to buy new equipment. Thank you all for your support!
8/11/02 A Motorcycle Accident near the pass resulted in 1 injured person. They were packaged up and transported by ambulance for treatment at the hospital. The injuries appeared to be limited to a broken ankle.
8/7/02 A Live Fire Drill in Red River was attended by some Rio Fernando personel. A property owner was kind enough to donate 2 structures that were scheduled for demolition. This provided a full day of structural fire fighting practice for several departments. Thank you to Red River for inviting us over.
7/27/02 A Campfire was reported in La Junta Canyon. The site was checked and the campers were informed that their fire was ok, since the campfire ban has been lifted.
7/26/02 Moving Vehicle Accident from an improper passing incident resulted in various impacts among 2 pickups and a dumptruck. 1 person was removed from the scene in an ambulance. Note: Unsafe passing and poor lane position are 2 of the leading causes of accidents involving injuries in our Canyon. Please drive safely. Saving a few minutes of time is not worth your life.
7/24/02 Report of Smoke first near Tienditas Canyon was determined to be low lying haze and moisture (commonly called a water dog).
7/22/02 A Campfire reported in the Capulin campground was investigated by the fire marshal. Cooperative campers put it out right away.
7/21/02 A Garbage Fire at an unspecified location in Angel Fire or Valle Escondido that was reported as a possible field fire prompted a mutual aid response and a search of several possible locals before the fire was pinned down near Angel Fire. Truck 2 responded and other trucks were deployed, but did not leave the station before the situation was resolved.
7/19/02 A Bomb Threat to civic plaza in Taos resulted in a call for Rio Fernando to stand by for mutual aid. Fire department personel and engine 4 remained on standby at the head of the bypass until the scene was cleared.
7/17/02 A Thrown Bottle from a passing white truck impacted the front windshield of another vehicle traveling in the opposite lane. This occured near Las Petacas campground while department personel were on scene in response to a call regarding a campfire. The two events were completely unrelated. The unfortunate driver was shocked, stunned, and covered with glass, but not seriously injured.
7/17/02 A Campfire reported in the Las Petacas campground was investigated by the fire marshal. Cooperative campers put it out right away.
7/10/02 Smoke - was reported visible from the club house in Valle Escondido following an observed lightning strike. Department personel investigated and observed the sporadic smoke. Before firefighters could reach the remote fire, heavy rain and lightning moved into the area. The storm apparently put out the fire. Subsequent observation showed no additional smoke.
7/7/02 Annual Neighborhood Association Picnic - was held at the Main Fire Station. 'A good time was had by all.'
7/7/02 Smoke - was reported south of the club house by concerned residents of Valle Escondido. Department personel investigated and found an attended campfire. The individuals were informed of the current regulations governing our area and the fire was put out.
7/4/02 Fireworks - in Taos and surrounding areas resulted in high fire risk. RFFD personel remained on duty as lookouts and standby personel at the head of the bypass throughout the evening. Citizen cooperation with firework bans surpassed all expectations. We didn't have to put out any fires. Thank you!
7/4/02 Rio Fernando's Engine 4 - participated in a parade in Red River in the morning.
7/3/02 3 Bears, a large female and 2 juveniles (not accompanying the female) have been foraging garbage cans and causing minor property damage in the lower canyon within an area extending from the fire department substation and extending past the Taos Creek Cabins area. Do not leave garbage pet foods, or food items out where bears can get at them. These bears are no longer significantly afraid of humans, and thus are bordering upon becoming significantly hazardous. If these beautiful animals become trained to human food sources through the negligence of our residents, it may very well result in their eventual destruction.
7/1/02 A Young Kitty was rescued from a fir tree in Valle Escondido. (This was not the same cat as 3 weeks earlier.) This kitty was perched at about 60 feet, beyond the reach of even the departments long 36 foot ladder, and appeared to be on the verge of falling several times. Kit Carson Electrical Coop came to our assistance with a bucket truck that reached to 45 feet. From there, rescue attempts were made with a snare on the end of a pole. The cat lost it's footing and was caught safely in a blanket stretched out by firefighters waiting below. Unfortunately, the panicked, but very much intact cat promptly bounded off of the catch blanket and climbed another tree. Since this one was only about 15 feet high and was very slender, we simply cut it down and retrieved the cat. The healthy relieved looking cat was returned safely to healthy relieved looking owners. Our sincere thanks to Kit Carson and its wonderful personel for their assistance. (And to the owners for the cookies.)
6/21/02 Request to Standby to provide mutual aid for Eagle's Nest fire department ended with a call cancelation before resources were deployed.
6/21/02 Smoke was reported in or near South Capulin Canyon. This was determined to be low lying haze and smoke from regional fires illuminated by the angle of the sun.
6/21/02 Hidden Fire was located after a 2 1/2 hour search in the morning. A small smouldering fire spreading in duff and low grass was located under a tree near the Apache Trail on the east slope of Tienditas Canyon. The fire was controlled, contained, and extinguished before it could spread. This fire was hard to pin down due to erratic smoke, but was contained with almost ideal rapidity due to the alertness of citizens who noticed and called in the smoke. Well done! And thank you to our Taos Canyon residents for you vigilence.
6/20/02 Lightning Strike and immediately associated smoke was reported in Tienditas Canyon in the morning. Repeated scans of the area finally resulted in a confirmation and location of faint periodic smoke in the late evening. The department attempted to locate the source of the smoke well into the night, but could not pin it down amongst the trees in the dark. This incident was named the Hidden Fire on 6/21.
6/20/02 Request to Standby to provide mutual aid for Angle Fire fire department ended with a call cancelation before resources were deployed.
6/20/02 Heavy Smoke from regional fires and low lying clouds resulted in report of smoke near Shady Brook. This was determined to be low lying haze and smoke from regional fires and thick clouds dropping over the mountain ridges.
6/19/02 Over 200 Lightning Strikes recorded within an 8 mile radius of Shady Brook had fire fighters looking around nervously.
6/16/02 Lake Fire (about 5 acres) was located near Eagle Nest Lake. RFFD assisted in control, providing personel and engines. Initial attack by an very well piloted heavy helicopter and quick action by State Forestry personel resulted in near complete containment by midnight. RFFD monitored the fire through the night with Engine 2 and provided Water through the next day with Tender 1.
6/8/02 Request to Standby to provide mutual aid for Red River fire department ended with a call cancelation before resources were deployed.
6/8/02 A Kitty Cat was rescued from 30-40 feet up in a straight aspen tree in Valle Escondido with the use of RFFD ladders. Resource expenditures amounted to 1 can of tuna and a couple of hours of time. The cat was returned safe and sound to a happy owner.
6/4/02 2 Reports of Smoke first near Doug Scott studio and later near Tienditas were determined to be low lying haze and moisture (commonly called water dogs). A general smoke smell from the regional fires and the behaviour of the dense cloud formations as the drifted out of the trees made the illusion very convincing. Fire fighters monitered several locations on and off throughout the day.
6/4/02 Lightning Strike 1 mile past Shady Brook resulted in report of smoke or fire in a tree. The tree was located and the fire was confirmed to have gone out on it's own.
6/1/02 A Bonfire reported near Upper Tienditas was investigated by the fire marshal and department personel. Don't start fires folks. Fire conditions are extreme. All fires are prohibited at this time. Violations will result in stiff fines. Careless burning under these conditions can destroy forests or homes in minutes.
6/1/02 Request to Standby to provide mutual aid for Angle Fire fire department ended with a call cancelation before resources were deployed.
5/28/02 A Plane Crashed shortly after take off near Angel Fire. RFFD personel and engines assisted with water and construction of fire line. Despite heroic efforts to reach the area quickly, the pilot could not be saved.
5/28/02 Vehicle Accident on Hwy 64 between NM 266 and 267 resulted, thankfully, in no injuries.

Annual Summary of Department Activity
July 2001 to June 2002

55 Calls
62 Truck Responses
405 Fire Fighter Responses
1770 Feet of Hose Laid at Fires
66,720 Gallons of Water Pumped at Fires
202 Hours at Emergencies
1373 Emergency Personel Hours
46 Drills and Meetings
138 Training Hours
1794 Training Personnel Hours
1250 Hours Truck Inspections, Maintenance, Records, Fundraising, and Education.
4417 Total Personnel Hours = 2 1/2 Work Years
3 Civilian Injuries, 1 Fire Fighter Injury, 1 Civilian Death
The above summary includes only departmental activities. It does not include individual training and class time, personal gear maintenance, personal patrols, or the 1000's of hours of other time that members donate outside of regular department functions.

If you have an important department or community related item that needs to be added to the news page, send it by email to wendirob@laplaza.org for review. Please include your phone number so that we can contact you back for details if necessary.

Regional Fire & Rescue Information

Southwest Current Large Fire Location Map
Southwest Year-To-Date Large Fire Location Map
Southwest Regional Current Fire News
Southwest Regional Current Fire Weather Map
Carson National Forest Current Fire Restrictions

Enchanted Circle Fire & Rescue Information

Enchanted Circle EMS Information Web Site
Enchanted Circle Regional Fire Protection Association
Taos Search and Rescue Web Site
Red River Fire Department Web Site
Taos Ski Valley Fire Department Web Site
Taos Volunteer Fire Department Web Site

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