Weather: It’s rare that one gets an explanation from the weather service. Their mission is the future, telling us about immediate threats and predicting the weather for the next day or so. History is yesterday.
This week, NASA released a video showing a sandstorm in Colorado moving south to meet the smoke from the fires east of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. [1] The date was 29 April, the day after my allergies were so bad a week ago Thursday. [2] We were west of the main route of the moving dirt, but it probably had movements on the fringe that reached us before the main body was captured by a satellite camera.
Last rain: 4/1. Week’s low: 29 degrees F. Week’s high: 89 degrees F in the shade. Winds were up to 43 mph in Los Alamos on Tuesday. Days in May with winds over 25 mph: 8 of 8.
What’s blooming in the area: Spirea, lilacs, bearded iris, lavender moss phlox
Lilacs and spirea are doing well, if they have been watered. On the other hand, there are few flowers on northern shrubs of landowners who have not become away of drought conditions and assumed that what worked in the past would continue.
What’s blooming beyond the walls and fences: Alfilerillo, bindweed, oxalis, fleabane, goat’s beard, common and native dandelions; needle, cheat, and June grasses
What’s coming up beyond the walls and fences: Daturas, fern leaf globemallow, white sweet clover, lamb’s quarter, Russian thistles, black grama grass; Virginia creeper, trees of heaven, sandbar willow, and broom snakeweed leafing
What’s blooming in my yard: Austrian Copper rose, chives, coral bells, blue flax, vinca
What’s coming up in my yard: Lead plant, buffalo grass; desert willow and Russian sage leafing
Animal sightings: Rabbits, western chickadees, geckoes, swallowtail butterfly, bumble and small bees, hornets, sidewalk and harvester ants
Tasks: Usually one worries about the last frost date when putting out plants. And, it is no small consideration. Temperatures were down to freezing two mornings this past week, and 29 degrees F on Thursday. They didn’t dip long enough to affect the catalpas, which often lose their first leaves to cold weather.
However, this year the last wind date is more important. It’s already too warm to plant cool weather seeds like larkspur. Maybe they can go in the ground late in the summer for next year.
The local hardware stores have not received any locally grown annuals. All they have are fruit trees and some vegetables grown in Alabama. For whatever reason, and I’m sure it’s not local weather conditions, there are no snapdragons or pansies to plant.
It looks like it’s going to be a defensive summer, with my attention focused on keeping paths and hoses clear. Then, as the weeds that have blown through begin to sprout, it will become a daily battle to keep them at bay. This week I picked up Russian thistles every day, plucked dandelion flowers, and pulled cheat grass.
Weekly update: Fire season lasts until the monsoons finally dowse the worst of the flames. Like everyone, I heard news of the fires east of the Sangre. One store was collecting money for victims of the fire in Mora on Tuesday.
I also was aware that a fire had started during the “epic wind event” on 22 April near Jemez Springs. All I really knew is that it went south from the scars of the Las Conchas Fire of 2011 [3] that burned the side of Tchicoma that’s directly across the river from my house.
Then, last Saturday I looked out around 7 pm and saw smoke behind the Black Mesa.
I was worried until, half an hour later, it became obvious the fire was somewhere at the south end of the dark ridge I call the Jémez. The mountains may be broken into smaller parts, but I have no sense of the geography at that end. [4]
The smoke turned from the normal white of burning wood and water, to uglier hues in the picture at the top. Monday night I had trouble getting to sleep because my nose wouldn’t stop running. When I went into town Tuesday, I talked to others who said everyone was having allergy problems. One woman recalled her grandson had had a hard time Monday night.
Since then, several changes have been made. A team from Salt Lake City has taken over from the one from Atlanta that was in charge. [7] The Southern region covers the area from Texas east; the other concentrates on the Great Basin where there currently are no great fires. Of course, most of our resources are east of the mountains from Las Vegas to the Philmont Boy Scout Ranch are threatened. The Forest Service has only so many men and so much equipment, and that was clearly a greater priority until smoke began seeping into Los Alamos. [8]
By Wednesday 751 people were fighting the fire, and planes that could scoop water had arrived, as had a masticator to chop up brush. It was sent by the Department of Energy, [9] who manages the national laboratory in Los Alamos.
Since then, the fire has fallen into a predictable rhythm driven by temperature. People fight the fire during the day. One knows they are active by the haze that falls in front of the Jémez. As the day progresses, it thickens and may come in front of the Black Mesa which is less than two miles from by back porch.
Then, as temperatures rise, the smoke begins rising so it becomes visible about 6:30 pm. By 7 pm, the winds are carrying the smoke east and northeast.
Temperatures cool when the sun goes down and the particulates reach people’s noses. Some mornings a band of white still lays along the horizon, only to disappear with the sun’s heat. A new day in the cycle begins.
Yesterday, there were 872 people involved. The number of water tenders had increased from 6 on 1 May to 15. Still, the number of acres burned had increased from 17,885 then [10] to 37, 425 ares on the most recent report. [11]
Notes on photographs:
1. Sun through smoke, looking west toward the Jémez, 1 May 2022, 6:25 pm.
2. Lilac Fiala Remembrance, 7 May 2022. I don’t know the species of the butterfly.
3. Smoke behind the Black Mesa, 30 April 2022, 6:58 pm.
4. Smoke west of the Black Mesa, 30 April 2022, 7:26 pm.
5. Smoke west of the Black Mesa, 1 May 2022, 6:24 pm.
6. Smoke behind the Black Mesa, 5 May 2022, 6:46 pm.
End notes: Reports on the Cerro Pelado fire are posted to the NM Fire Info website by the SFNFPIO, the public information office for the Santa Fé National Forest.
1. “Satellite Shows Western Wildfires, Dust Storms Collide.” Uploaded to YouTube by Bloomberg Quicktake.
2. This is discussed in the post for 1 May 2022.
3. This language appears at the beginning of every update on the Cerro Pelado fire.
4. A map that accompanied a fire update mentioned the San Miguel Mountains. “Cerro Pelado Fire Update Thursday, May 5, 2022.” Posted 5 May 2022.
5. “Cerro Pelado and Freelove Fires April 30 Update.” Posted 30 April 2022 in section on “Yesterday.”
6. “Cerro Pelado Fire Update.” Posted 2 May 2022 in section on “Yesterday.”
7. “Cerro Pelado Fire Update Thursday, May 5, 2022.” Posted 5 May 2022.
8. A community meeting was held in Los Alamos on 2 May 2022. “Cerro Pelado Fire Update.” Posted 2 May 2022.
9. “Cerro Pelado Fire Update Wednesday, May 4, 2022.” Posted 4 May 2022.
10. “Cerro Pelado and Freelove Fire Update.” Posted 1 May 2022.
11. “Cerro Pelado Fire Update Sunday, May 8, 2022.” Posted 8 May 2022.
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