WILDFIRES: ANOTHER SIGN OF SPRING

Right on cue,  Springtime signals the beginning of fire season in New Mexico.  I think we had our first small bosque fire around mid-March this year,  near the Isleta Reservation just south of Albuquerque.  Friday,  a large brush fire near the Rio Puerco west of the city shut down Interstate 40 for eight hours.  And there is now a large fire raging down near Socorro;  the Rio Puerco fire also re-ignited for a while yesterday once again shutting down a portion of the major east/west highway across the state.

In fact,  I-40 has had quite a few problems over the past few days.  In addition to the brush fire  (which, incidentally was caused by someone throwing a cigarette butt out of their car window),  high winds near the town of Grants caused the highway to be shut down due to the limited visibility.  This was the same area where blowing dust caused multiple chain-reaction automobile accidents on a couple of occassions last year resulting in three deaths.  The highway department spent thousands of dollars reseeding the private property adjacent to the Interstate but their efforts didn't seem to work.  So,  they are watching the weather forcasts very closely and keeping the "Road Closed" signs ready to put up at the slightest hint of a strong breeze.  All of the snow and rain we've received over the past few months certainly doesn't seemed to have helped,  either.

Still,  with all the usual signs of Spring down here -- the high winds,  the hikers having to be rescued off Sandia Peak,  the increase in wildfires -- nobody has told Mother Nature because I think she's confused.  As I look out my office window early this second Sunday in April,  I see snow once again falling from the sky and beginning to stick to the branches of the cherry tree and accumulate on the walkway.  The high temperature here yesterday was 67 degrees Fahrenheit;  the snow should change over to rain later this afternoon with a predicted high of 50 and it's supposed to be 60 degrees on Monday...and 73 on Wednesday.  Yeah,  and it'll probably snow again next weekend.

You've gotta love Springtime in the Burque.