With the threat of flash flooding significantly reduced, nearly all of the Midnight Fire closure area to the north of El Rito in Rio Arriba County will reopen at 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 1. This is the second closure reduction of the Midnight Fire burn area and related downstream locations where sudden flash flooding presented dangerous situations.
The popular sport climbing area and parking will open. Visitors will also be able to camp on the east side of Forest Road 44, north of the climbing area.
Two Forest Service roads will remain closed due to continued flash flooding risk: 44B, which leads to private land, and 559K (often known as 44A), which accesses the unofficial Potrero Falls trailhead.
A new Forest Order and map are available online. https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/carson/alerts-notices/...
The Midnight Fire, which was first reported on June 9, was caused by lightning and grew to 4,896 acres before it was fully contained on July 1. During early stages of the incident, the fire’s behavior became less intense, and its rate of spread slowed, when flames reached areas recently treated with prescribed fire in 2018, as well as the burn area of the 2019 Francisquito Fire, a 2,009-acre lightning-caused fire that was managed for forest health, among other objectives. These areas gave firefighters safer spaces to work within and build containment lines.
(Photo: An area burned by the Midnight Fire's ignition point off Forest Road 172)
Original source can be found here.
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