Fuels Management Requirements

Village Ordinance 2006-04 requires fire hazard abatement on all property within the Village limits. Implementing the Fuels Management Standards is the minimum fuels reduction necessary to be in compliance with ordinance 2006-04. The objective of this ordinance is ground fire management. That is manipulating vegetation and removal of fuels to keep a fire burning on the ground from traveling vertically into the tops of trees where it becomes a crown fire and is much more difficult to manage. In addition, these standards remove fuels directly next to structures. Free lot assessments are available by calling the Forestry office at 505-257-5544 or by stopping in at 421 Wingfield 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, M-F.  Also, see FAQ 

Research has shown many homes are lost in a large fire event to ground fire.  This type of fire behavior needs light fuels like pine needles and other flamable ground material  (see Forestry terms ) to enable the fire burning on the ground to reach your home and do damage.  A typical example is a creeping ground fire, perhaps started by an ember from a crown fire, that burns up to a deck, ignites the deck which in turn heats a window until it breaks. Now the curtains catch on fire and the house burns down from the inside out. An instructive video titled: Home Ignition Zone by Jack Cohen is available at the Ruidoso Public Library on Kansas City Road in Ruidoso and is currently being aired on local Channel 11 at 6:00 pm Thursday through Monday.