25 years later: A look back at the Cerro Grande Fire

Yahoo

06-05-2025

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (KRQE) – At the time, it was the most destructive wildfire in New Mexico's history. So, how did the Cerro Grande Fire start, and how did it impact those who were living in Los Alamos and the surrounding areas at the time?
On May 4, 2000, the National Park Service started a prescribed burn, but several critical errors were made before the fire started. 'They didn't plan for the level of complexity and the level of possibility of escape given the place where they were burning,' said Author Tom Ribe, 'Infero by Committee.'
Ribe said that the crew that was working the fire was understaffed. 'Had they understood the complexity of what they were doing realistically and not made some key bad assumptions, they would have had a lot more people up there, or better yet, they would have said now is not the time to do this fire lets wait till fall when things are wetter,' said Ribe.
According to a report, the fire burned quicker than expected, and with high winds, it grew out of control. 'This was described to me as a cloud, imagine a cloud filled with burning cigarettes, I mean, in as burning cigarettes, that cloud went over the fire line, and boom, like a bomb, exploded on the other side of the fire line,' said former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson in February 2025.
The fire burned toward Los Alamos, and crews had a hard time staying in front of the flames. 'They set up fire lines to prevent the fire from going past the lines; they actually believe the fire jumped from a mile away in one of the hotspots, given the wind and the conditions,' said former Gov. Johnson in an interview in May 2000.
'In some cases, it's burned so hot that the ash is a foot deep or more. And in some places, the soil is sterilized and may even look like glass beads where the atomic bomb was first exploded,' said an official at a news conference.
As the fire raged, the decision was made to evacuate Los Alamos on May 10. 'We start driving around Los Alamos, we're left, everyone's leaving Los Alamos, and there's literally fires starting in people's front yards, and I'm out there stomping out fires,' said Gov. Johnson in 2025.
Crews from around the state worked together to battle the flames. 'They tell me 3,000 houses are going to burn that night in Los Alamos, which is just staggering. And I'm there, and I get emotional every time I talk about this, but that evening, early evening, in rolls dozens of fire trucks from surrounding communities into Los Alamos. And oh my gosh, I mean unbelievable, they drive in in a convoy and that evening basically, they spend the entire night putting out fires and I mean homes that burning but all those firefighters are out there putting out fires in people's front yards that would've spread to their homes,' said Gov. Johnson in 2025.
In total, more than 48,000 acres and 280 homes would burn. At the time, it was the most destructive fire in New Mexico history.
In 2011, the Los Conchas Fire was sparked in the Jemez Mountains from a downed power line. While people braced for the worst, the fire was stopped by the Cerro Grande Fire burn scar. 'It had two heads, one head went down into Bandelier and the other head went directly towards Los Alamos and if that head of the Los Conchas Fire had not run into the fire burned out area that was left behind by the Cerro Grande Fire, it slammed directly into Los Alamos and would have been a much more intense much more disastrous fire than Cerro Grande was,' said Ribe.
In total, the Los Conchas Fire burned more than 150,000 acres.
The Hermits Peak Calf Canyon Fire would burn more than 340,000 acres and more than 900 structures in 2022. It is now the most destructive fire in New Mexico history. It was started by the U.S Forest Service.
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