Mules pack water to fire in Manzano Mountains

TORRANCE COUNTY, N.M. —The U.S. Forest Service had some four-legged help this past weekend while fighting a fire in the Manzano Mountain Wilderness. Right now, fighting wildfires in the state is tricky because so many resources are on the West Coast, battling other blazes. Arlene Perea with the Cibola National Forest said the image of several pack mules climbing a mountain might be thought of as a page from the history books. "It's old school, but it works," she said. The Ojito Fire, which started Friday, only burned about 1 acre, but Perea said it was burning in the worst possible spot. "It started in a really, really remote, really rugged area," Perea said. Crews had to hike into the fire since a truck couldn't be driven in. The firefighters weren't from the Forest Service. They came from the Isleta Pueblo and the Valencia County Fire Department. No hot shot crews or Forest Service equipment are in the state. "We've shipped a bunch of them off and they are helping with fires out west," Perea said. So the Forest Service had to come up with a way to get water and supplies to the crews fighting the Ojito Fire. "Because we were working in the wilderness, we thought let's go a little old school and let's bring in some pack strings," Perea said. Seven pack mules and three horses made two trips every day up to the fire and the firefighters working it. Perea said they packed along lots of water...more

This should be obvious to most - its a wilderness area and the Forest Service had no choice. No mechanical vehicles or equipment are allowed in wilderness.