Scene from Frijoles Fire that has burned some 500 acres. Photo Courtesy SFNF
SFNF NEWS RELEASE
Start Date: August 4, 2026 Cause: Lightning
Size: 500 acres Containment: 0%
Fuels: Ponderosa Timber, dead & down. Total personnel: 68
Location: Steep terrain 5 miles west of Sierra Mosca, 3 miles southeast of Cundiyo, NM. The fire is in the Espanola Ranger District within the boundaries of the Pecos Wilderness Area.
Highlights: At 7:00 a.m. on August 7, 2026, command of the fire transitioned to a Type 3 Incident Management Team led by Incident Commander Joshua Erickson. A complex incident management team was ordered.
Operations: Firefighters have secured UTV access to the fire and are constructing indirect containment lines north of Frijoles Canyon with bulldozer support. Hotshots are building lines west of the fire, while crews establish containment on the southern ridge. Large air tankers and three helicopters will continue dropping retardant and water to slow the fire’s spread.
The team is working in close coordination with Santa Fe County, surrounding communities, and Tribes.
Safety: To facilitate safe and efficient suppression efforts the public is asked to avoid the area of the fire and the Santa Cruz Overlook Road and Campground.
Aviation operations in support of suppression efforts are occurring at Nambe Lake and Santa Cruz Lake. Please be aware of your surroundings while recreating in the area and keep a safe distance from locations that aviation assets are operating in.
The health and safety of firefighters and the public are always the priority. Drones pose a serious risk to firefighting and can cause air operations to cease. The public is reminded that “If you fly, we can’t!”
Smoke: May be visible from Santa Fe, Cundiyo, Nambe, Chimayo, Pojoaque, and Espanola. For air quality information visit https://fire.airnow.gov/.
Weather for the Region (August 8, 2026): A moist monsoonal pattern will persist across northern New Mexico with mostly sunny skies and scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms from Cuba through Santa Fe to Glorieta. High temperatures will range from the upper 70s to mid-80s, with minimum relative humidity between 20–35 percent and good overnight recoveries of 60–90 percent. Terrain-driven winds of 5–15 mph will become erratic and gusty near thunderstorms, with outflow winds potentially exceeding 35–45 mph. Lightning, brief heavy rainfall, localized flooding, and sudden wind shifts will be the primary weather concerns for fire operations.
Closures: There are no area closures currently. Visitors are encouraged to avoid the fire area and use caution when traveling near firefighting operations.
Fire Information: facebook.com/santafeNF/x.com/SantafeNF/nmfireinfo.com/https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/