Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire
The 2022 Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire was the largest and most destructive wildfire in the history of the U.S. state of New Mexico. Burning 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), the fire was the most significant of the record-breaking 2022 New Mexico wildfire season as well as the largest wildfire of 2022 in the contiguous United States. The fire destroyed at least 903 structures, including several hundred homes, and damaged 85 more, while threatening more than 12,000 other structures in the region.
| 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 | 35.759°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 | |
Location in New Mexico | |
The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire was 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 operation from January 2019 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 as it grew, surpassing the 2012 Whitewater-Baldy Fire Complex to become New Mexico's largest-ever fire until it was fully contained on August 21.