ALBUQUERQUE – Some New Mexico forests are rolling back bans on campfires as the summer rainy season sets in.
Officials with the Lincoln and Gila national forests cited the onset of monsoons as the reason for rescinding fire restrictions on the southern New Mexico forests. Still, forest managers are warning people that they still need to be careful.
“It’s imperative that campers fully extinguish campfires before leaving a campsite,” said Laura Rabon, a spokeswoman with the Lincoln National Forest, where the fire danger rating has dropped from high to moderate.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque say a another round of showers and thunderstorms is likely for much of the state Thursday.
On Thursday morning, they said the dew point temperature at the Albuquerque airport hit 62 degrees Fahrenheit. This marked the highest it has been in 2020.
The latest drought map shows all of New Mexico is dealing with some form of drought, with the northern border and spots in eastern New Mexico faring the worst. A year ago this same time less than one-third of the state was covered by abnormal or drought conditions.
The dryness has water managers on edge as they try to keep the Rio Grande flowing through the Albuquerque area.
