Writing a small post about this MegaFire isn’t easy.

I happened to be just north of Las Vegas, NM, on April 6th, 2022, documenting some restoration work and noticed a smoke plume on the drive heading back home.  I pulled over to take a photo…my mind racing…trying to place where exactly the fire was and how alarming this should be.  I called Pat Leahan with Las Vegas Peace and Justice Center, finding out via text from her that a prescribed burn had been scheduled for that day. That prescribed fire on Hermit’s Peak had quickly WINDed out of control that parched morning and began its march for way beyond.  Weeks later it would merge with a re-ignited fire from Forest Service burn slash piles in nearby Calf Canyon that had over wintered.

The combined fires devastated watersheds, infrastructure, human homes, countless habitats and the list goes on and on.

Though I don’t live in the areas that were under evacuation (READY, SET, GO), I know those communities well…having made 2 two films there, Thinking Like Water and Rooted Lands/Tierras Arriagadas, as well as having studied at NM Highlands University completing a certificate in GIS.  Friends and colleagues call the area home and were directly impacted by the MegaBlazes, including Bill and Mary.  I feel bonded to much of the that land and its creatures…how could one not?

I learned a lot about Fire Fighting and Containment in the months that followed, watching the daily updates, hearing from locals. And although the topic of Post-Fire Flood Impact is already a key subject in this film,  the scale of what that must be for this Fire, is mind and heart boggling.  Bill and other Practitioners relay there’s a key window for taking advantage of post-fire sediment flows to benefit ecosystems using low tech structures and techniques.

What I’d like to share for now (in addition to the snapshot I took that day)…is the link to HERMIT’S PEAK WATERSHED ALLIANCE and the knowledgeable outreach, site visits and tailored guides they offer for locals during this critical juncture.

If you’re nearby, you can sign up on their website to help with watershed restoration   If you’re far away, you can see if there’s a way for you to help them, help others.