Review of prescribed fires finds gaps in key areas as US Forest Service looks to improve safety

Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — It was the largest and most destructive wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history. The government-sparked conflagration known as the Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon Fire forever changed the lives, and livelihoods, of thousands of residents in numerous rural communities. Two years later, independent government investigators say there are still gaps that need to be addressed if the U.S. Forest Service is to be successful at using prescribed fire as a tool to reduce wildfire risks amid climate change. U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández requested the investigation by the Government Accountability Office. The report notes there were 43 prescribed fires that escaped control over a 10-year period. The congresswoman tells The Associated Press there is no margin for error.