SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a statement following the conclusion of the U.S. Forest Service investigation that found the 2022 Cerro Pelado Fire was caused by a mismanaged federal prescribed burn:

“I am – again – outraged over the U.S. Forest Service’s negligence that caused this destruction. While climate change and extreme drought continue to plague the Southwest, the Forest Service must abandon their business-as-usual approach to prescribed burns and forest management in our state. I am relieved to hear that the Forest Service will now use technology to prevent this from occurring in the future. We will continue to hold the federal government accountable for each of the disastrous fires they caused in our state last summer.”

Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department Cabinet Secretary Sarah Cottrell Propst also issued a statement:

“Once again, the U.S. Forest Service has harmed New Mexicans with their failure to find the remaining heat after a prescribed pile burn intended to protect the very community where structures were lost. In addition, the U.S. Forest Service failed to promptly disclose the Cerro Pelado fire’s cause, further harming New Mexicans who have been unable to file insurance claims pending disclosure of the fire’s origin.”