Fuel Mitigation Projects

Current Projects

Los Alamos Fire Department and County Parks and Open Space to Begin Wildfire Fuels Reduction Project

Los Alamos, New Mexico— Starting Monday, March 17th, 2025 Los Alamos Fire Department (LAFD) in collaboration with Los Alamos County Parks and Open Space Department will begin work on an important wildfire fuels reduction project that will provide much-needed mitigation in several areas of Los Alamos. The primary focus points of this project will include ladder fuels reduction, increasing tree canopy spacing and fuel break construction.

LAFD has identified multiple project areas, which include the following areas:

• North Rd and Ridgeway - 7 acres

• San Ildefonso Rd and El Gancho St. - 3 acres

• Barranca Crossing - 2 acres

• Canada Del Buey Trail -17 acres

• Pueblo Canyon - 25 acres

LAFD crews along with Los Alamos County Parks and Open Space will start mitigation work in the North Rd. area, which includes marking trees to be thinned, chainsaw work and the use of woodchippers.

Residents may hear noise and see activity in the forested areas from chainsaws and woodchipper operations. No traffic disruption is expected as part of this project.

Equipment use will be limited to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Work will be conducted Monday through Friday and the weekend until mitigation work in these areas has been completed.

This project will continue throughout the spring and summer months with crews performing continued mitigation as funding, resources and weather conditions allow. Signage will be posted in areas to alert residents of the work being performed. Please stay clear of the mitigation in these areas and adhere to posted signage to avoid hazardous operations.

Residents with questions or concerns are asked to call LAFD Wildland Division Chief Kelly Sterna at 505.662.8301 or email kelly.sterna@lacnm.us.

Previous Complete Projects

The completed mitigation Project thinned trees and shrubs on approximately 114 acres of County lands, and offered fire hazard mitigation assistance to homeowners.

The purpose of the Project was to:

reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire;
protect the lives and safety of citizens and firefighters;
create defensible space around residential areas and critical facilities; and
promote ecosystem health.

The map below displays the seven locations where the LAC Fire Department thinned vegetation. All of the areas treated are within the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) and were prioritized for treatments in the County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP)(PDF, 6MB).

For more information about these project areas please see the Los Alamos County Wildfire Mitigation and Public Education Project Environmental Assessment(PDF, 16MB).

To view the pretreatment map of Camino Uva please click here.

Project Area