Monument Fire, Pichacho, New Mexico

Green: vegetationBrown: already burnedOrange: fire right nowSentinel-2 · Copernicus

Key facts

Source: NIFC

Location7 miles south of Tinnie, NM

CauseNatural

What's burningTall Grass (2.5 feet)

How it's behavingMinimal

ComplexityType 4 IncidentOfficial scale from 5 to 1: a Type 1 is the most complex in the country.

JurisdictionPrivate land

Cost so far$50,000

Glossary: what each term means

Minimal

Barely moving. Low, thin smoke.

Smoldering

Burning without flame, in the ground or in roots. Can flare up days later.

Creeping

Moves slowly, hugging the ground.

Moderate

Spreads with low, steady flames.

Active

Spreading evenly and steadily, with visible flame.

Extreme

Fast and unpredictable.

Running

Runs along the ground much faster than a person walks.

Flanking

Grows along the sides, not head-on.

Backing

Moves against the wind or downhill, which makes it slower.

Crowning

Climbs into the treetops and jumps crown to crown. It can't be attacked from the ground.

Short Crown Runs

Climbs into the crowns in bursts and drops back down.

Torching

Whole trees flaring up like torches.

Isolated Torching

Single scattered trees flaring up whole, like torches.

Group Torching

Whole clumps of trees flaring at once.

Spotting

Wind carries embers through the air and starts new fires ahead of the front: that is how a fire jumps a road or a firebreak.

Wind Driven Runs

The wind pushes it in long runs in one direction.

The ones marked ● are the behaviors that make a fire harder to stop. They are not a warning or an instruction: they are the description written by the agency in charge. For decisions, always follow your emergency services.

The story so far

Having burned for 46 days across a total of 572 acres of private land featuring tall grass standing 2.5 feet high, the naturally caused Monument Fire near Pichacho, New Mexico, in Lincoln County, located 7 miles south of Tinnie, has now ended. Throughout its 46-day duration, the fire averaged a growth of about 12 acres per day.

By the time operations concluded, response efforts involved 18 personnel managing the Type 4 incident, ultimately bringing containment to 90 percent with minimal fire behavior recorded. The total cost to suppress the incident reached about $50,000.

This event unfolds within a wider context for the country in 2026, where a total of 3,459,197 hectares have burned so far, tracking 37 percent below the two-decade average. The local typical fire season spans from June to October, encompassing the September 12 start date of this incident.