Excess wood being burned at El Morro

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

EL MORRO NATIONAL MONUMENT — About 75 acres of wood from a housecleaning of sorts from last summer, which is stacked in piles, will be burned beginning today through the end of next week at the El Morro National Monument, Andy Bundshuh, fire management officer for the National Park Service, said.

“We want to take advantage of the snowfall, which will help keep any fires from spreading,” he said of the winter storm that dropped about 8 inches of snow in the area Monday and Tuesday.

Bundshuh said fire crews cleaned “ladder fuels” from the forest, as well as downed branches and dead wood to be able to help restore native grasses and bushes to the region this coming summer.

“Ladder fuel” are those branches and bushes at the base of a tree that would allow a wildfire to climb the tree like a ladder.

“Environmentally, it helps the forest to clear out these fuels,” he said.

The area that is planned for the burn is west to east of the sandstone rock cliffs and south of the monument, he said.
Some wood that is suitable for fireplaces was removed at the time of the cutting and placed in a separate location, he said.

The Park Service is working toward establishing a permit process for locals to be able to retrieve wood sometime within the next month or two, he said.

“We can’t give it away, that is federal law. We are required to provide it at the free market rate, but we are going to make it as economically low cost as we can,” he said.

Two local residents, Sharron Dishongh, owner of the El Morro RV Park and Cabins and Ancient Way Cafe, said she does not like the burns because the smoke hangs in the air during the day and makes it “smoky.”

Bundshuh said the park service has obtained an air quality burn permit from the New Mexico Environmental Department, which is required prior to any burn being conducted.

“During the day the smoke goes straight up and it dissipates at night, he said.

Dishongh agreed that the smoke dissipates at night, but her property is immediately adjacent to the edge of the monument a mile south of the cliffs ,and she said she has lost customers because of previous burns that have created smoky breathing conditions.

She also disagrees philosophically with piling wood and burning it.

“If you are going to pile it up, fine, but let the rabbits and squirrels have some place to hide,” she said.

She also said driving down the road and looking at naked trees is not attractive.

An artist who creates wood sculptures, “Maqui” and who lives at the RV park, said he wants the park service to give away free wood to needy families in the area but it will not. Maqui declined to give his real name saying he is always quoted as “Maqui.”

“I approached them a year ago trying to get some wood for some elderly Navajo here who can’t get out and get their own wood, for heat, and the park service said no,” he said.

“I am not sure that burning a pile of wood does the same thing as a natural process of fire does in a forest,” he said.
Maqui was happy to hear that wood has been set aside and that a permitting process is in the works, “if it comes through.”

About a dozen or so homes and the RV park and cabins are in the area surrounding the Monument. Park service employees started calling Monday and informed all area residents that a burn is being planned, Bundshuh said.

The burn will be from 8 a.m. to 2:30 or 3 p.m., during the day with the fires being allowed to burn themselves out by 5 p.m. The final day of burning will be Feb. 15.

Information:(505) 285-4641 ext. 14.

To contact reporter Jim Tiffin call (505) 287-2197 or e-mail: jtiffin.independent@yahoo.com.