ROSWELL, N.M. – At 1.1 million acres, the Lincoln National Forest stretches from Alamogordo to Carlsbad. With an area that big, officials are preparing for fire season and most importantly, staffing. 

Each year, the National Forest Service has fire hire events to have a fully staffed fire crew for the fire season.

“They give people an opportunity to, you know, get their foot in the door as wildland firefighters for the federal government or any other agency,” said Amanda Fry, the public affairs officer for the Lincoln National Forest. 

This year, Fry says they hired a handful of crew members and look to be in good shape. She says they are not limited to what they have. 

“We’re not necessarily limited to whatever crew we have here on the Lincoln, we can call on other interagency, local, volunteer fire departments,” said Fry.

In 2023, they did not have any huge fires, but they continue to learn from the McBride fire after it burned for weeks, nearly two years ago. 

“We need to just take extra precautions and be proactive in managing forest land and making sure that something like that, you know, we’re protecting those communities as well as we possibly can against wildfire,” said Fry.

Currently, the risk is low for wildfires in the Lincoln National Forest. But Fry says the status changes on a day-to-day basis depending on the weather. 

“We might go up to medium tomorrow with these wind events that are showing up, we may raise it,” Fry said.

Even with a low chance of a fire starting, they urge people to always take the necessary precautions.

“Even if it’s a low chance of a fire you still need to make sure that campfire is properly drowned, you know, it’s cool to the touch when you’re leaving. Or you’re not parking in high dry grass, that’s another thing, the heat from your vehicle,” said Fry.

Fry says they are hopeful for another quiet fire season, but are ready for whatever comes their way.