Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire
| Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire | |
|---|---|
The fire burns near Highway 518 in New Mexico on April 29, 2022. | |
| Date(s) | April 6, 2022 - August 21, 2022 |
| Location | New Mexico |
| Coordinates | 35°45′32″N 105°30′11″W / 35.759°N 105.503°W |
| Statistics | |
| Burned area | 341,471 acres (138,188 ha; 534 sq mi) |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 0 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 3 |
| Structures destroyed | 903, 85 damaged |
| Ignition | |
| Cause | Escaped prescribed burn (Hermits Peak Fire) & leftover burn piles (Calf Canyon Fire) |
| Map | |
The 2022 Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire was the largest and most destructive wildfire in the history of New Mexico. The fire burned 341,471 acres (138,188 hectares) between early April and late June in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, in San Miguel, Mora, and Taos counties. It was the most significant fire of the record-breaking 2022 New Mexico wildfire season, as well as the largest wildfire of the year in the contiguous United States. The fire destroyed at least 903 structures, including several hundred homes, and damaged 85 more.
The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire formed from the merger of two separate wildfires: the Hermits Peak Fire began on April 6 when the U.S. Forest Service lost control of a prescribed burn, and the Calf Canyon Fire began on April 9 when an improperly extinguished Forest Service pile burn from January rekindled. The two fires burned into each other during a major wind event on April 22, 2022. Afterwards, the combined blaze was managed as a single incident, growing to surpass the 2012 Whitewater-Baldy Complex fire to become New Mexico's largest ever before it was fully contained on August 21.