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New Mexico Current Fire Restrictions (2026)

Conditional: New Mexico's statewide fire restrictions on state-jurisdiction land have been LIFTED. State Forester Order 2026-02 rescinds the restrictions imposed on April 6, 2026 for all non-federal, non-Tribal and non-municipal land, effective 8:00 a.m. Monday, September 28, 2026 (signed September 24, 2026), citing recent precipitation; EMNRD Forestry states it may reinstate restrictions if fire danger returns. That statewide order no longer bars campfires, smoking, fireworks or open, agricultural and debris burning on state-jurisdiction land, but other rules still apply. LOCAL RESTRICTIONS REMAIN: counties and municipalities set their own. On the Forestry Division's county fire-restrictions layer (feeding the Southwest Area Fire Restrictions map EMNRD links; last edited October 6, 2026, with no start or end dates posted), 6 counties list restrictions: Catron (open burning, field burning and campfires prohibited), Guadalupe (open, agricultural and debris burning and campfires), Otero (smoking, and campfires without a metal ring), San Miguel (open burning restricted, including crop land, field, range land, debris, ash-pile, prescribed and weed burning), Sierra (campfires, open fires and open burning prohibited) and Valencia (open burning, campfires, fireworks, welding/grinding and smoking prohibited); 11 counties read "No Restrictions" and the rest are blank, which is not a clearance. The Village of Ruidoso states it remains under its Level I fire restrictions inside Village limits. On FEDERAL land, restrictions are set per unit: the Cibola National Forest lifted Stage 1 on the Kiowa and Rita Blanca National Grasslands (Forest Order 03-03-07-26-17) effective September 25, 2026, after terminating Stage 1 on the Mountainair and Sandia Ranger Districts effective September 18, 2026, and the Carson, Gila, Lincoln and Santa Fe National Forests post no Stage 1 or Stage 2 order on their alert pages, though each keeps separate area and road closures. BLM New Mexico's own fire-restrictions page lists only the year-round Fire Prevention Order NM910-26-01 for every district, with termination orders for the seasonal orders in the Socorro Field Office (NMA02-26-01, rescinded 8 a.m. July 24, 2026), the Roswell Field Office including Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area (LLNMP00100-2026-001) and the Carlsbad Field Office (LLNMP02000-2026-001); the interagency map's BLM layer, last edited July 23, 2026, still tags Fort Stanton and the Black River area Stage 1, so if you see that label, the BLM termination orders are the newer source. Year-round on federal land in New Mexico: no fireworks, exploding targets or other incendiary devices, and chainsaws and off-highway vehicles need an approved spark arrester. Restrictions are set unit by unit and the interagency map does not show every local order, so confirm for the exact land you are standing on before lighting anything.

Official source: services3.arcgis.com →

Check the live restriction status: emnrd.nm.gov →

General legal information, not legal advice — verify important decisions with a licensed attorney.