The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire — which started as two separate U.S. Forest Service prescribed burns — destroyed more than 900 structures while burning across more than 340,000 acres in Northern New Mexico last year.
It took months for firefighters to fully contain. Then, when summer rains washed over the damaged earth, floods caused even more destruction.
It was the largest recorded fire in New Mexico’s history. And many residents in the area are still picking up the pieces.
Here’s a look back through photographs at the catastrophic wildfire and the continuing fallout.
Kylee Moberg tries to get through a road block on NM94 to get to her friend and horses, Friday April 22, 2022. Police blocked the road because of the Calf Canyon Fire burning near the area of the Hermit Peak Fire. (Eddie Moore/Journal)The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire burning near the San Miguel and Mora County line north of Sapello, Wednesday, April 26, 2022. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Juanito Baca cleans out anything flammable from next the coyote fence around his girlfriend’s house near the Gallinas Canyon in Las Vegas, Friday, April 29, 2022. The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire is burning through the canyon behind him. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Gary Morton, from Las Tusas, sits in a Comfort Inn Motel room in Las Vegas, Monday April 25, 2022. The Calf Canyon Fire has forced the evacuation of many residents of San Miguel and Mora County. (Eddie Moore/Journal)The skies in Las Vegas are dark from smoke from the Calf Canyon Fire burning in the Gallinas Canyon, Friday, April 29, 2022. (Eddie Moore/Journal)The Calf Canyon Fire burning in the Gallinas Canyon near Las Vegas, Friday, April 29, 2022. (Eddie Moore/Journal)
May 2022
Sawyer for the Carson Hot Shots Tyler Freeman digs a hole to keep a burning log from rolling down a slope, Monday May 23, 2022. He and his co-workers are working on hot spots from the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire in the Carson National Forest west of Chacon. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Hannah Kligman, squad boss assistant for the Carson Hot Shots, leads her team putting out hot spots from the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire in the Carson National Forest west of Chacon on May 23, 2022. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Sawyers for the Carson Hot Shots Henry Hornberger, left, and Tyler Freeman cut up a hollow tree that was burring on the inside, Monday May 23, 2022. They and their co-workers are working on hot spots from the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire in the Carson National Forest west of Chacon. (Eddie Moore/Journal)William Sandoval and his dogs Copper and Marissa sit in the evacuation center set up at Peñasco High School on May 9. Sandoval and his dogs were forced to leave their home in Chacon due to the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Smoke from the Calf Canyon/ Hermits Peak Fire rises to join with clouds behind an old church in Llano, near Peñasco, Wednesday May 18, 2022. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Maricela MacAuley, 17, and Adam Torres, 18, a senior at Mora High School, dance at the Governor’s Mansion, Thursday May 25, 2022. The Mora High School Prom was held at the Governor’s residence in Santa Fe. Mora and communities around it have been evacuated in recent weeks because of the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire buring in the area and were unable to hold the prom in Mora. (Eddie Moore/Journal)
June 2022
Alyssa Sanchez, a special education teacher at Mora Independent School, and her boyfriend Chase Perez, a custodian at the Mora School, look around what is left of their home in Abuelo, Thursday June 9, 2022. Their home was burned when the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire swept through the area. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Alyssa Sanchez, a special education teacher at Mora Independent School, stands in what is left of her home in Abuelo, Thursday June 9, 2022. Her home was burned when the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire swept through the area. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Chase Perez, a custodian at the Mora Independent School, looks what is left of his home and his dad’s ’74 AMC Javelin in Abuelo, Thursday June 9, 2022. His home and belongings was burned when the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire swept through the area. (Eddie Moore/Journal)The remains of a home burned by the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire in El Porvenir on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Remnants of a home burned by the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire remains in Gallinas Canyon on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. (Eddie Moore/Journal)
July 2022
Edward Dominguez, of Las Vegas, walks through the mud that covers the ground where a cabin stood on his property along Tecolote Creek in the Mineral Hill area Friday, July 22, 2022. Dominguez lost 2 houses, 13 vehicle, a tool shed and boat to the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire, and now a cabin and damage to his property from a huge flood that came off the burn scare of the fire on Thursday. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Sgt. Matt Jenkins, from Albuquerque, and other members of the New Mexico National Guard, search along Tecolote Creek in Mineral Hill Friday, July 22, 2022. He and dozens of National Guardsmen are helping the San Miguel Sheriff’s Office search the area after huge flood waters off the burn scare of the Calf Cayon/Hermits Peak Fire ripped through the stream on Thursday. Here the flood washed a motorhome up against the bridge. (Eddie Moore/Journal)
February 2023
Max Garcia, standing on Feb. 20, 2023, amid the remains of his charred barn, examines what’s left of his farm equipment after the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire swept through his ranch last year. The Garcias are one of three families the Journal spoke to recently about rebuilding after the catastrophic fire. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Max and Rachel Garcia on Feb. 20, 2023, describe their experience during the Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak Fire that destroyed much of their ranch, as well as several other nearby homes. The Garcias are one of three families the Journal spoke to recently about rebuilding after the catastrophic fire. (Eddie Moore/Journal)The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire ravaged much of Rachel and Max Garcia’s 600-acre ranch. Max was able to save their house to the left, but everything else was destroyed. A new barn has since been built. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Max Garcia stands next to his greenhouse that was destroyed by the Calf Canyon Hermit Peak Fire pictured on Monday, February 20, 2023. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Max Garcia’s solar-powered well was a victim of the Calf Canyon/Hermit’s Peak Fire. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Elisa and Samuel Aragon stand on a rock barrier between their home and an arroyo on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. Storm runoff from the Calf Canyon Hermit Peak Fire has destroyed much of their farm equipment and is threatening their home off Mora County Road A023. The Aragons are one of three families the Journal spoke to recently about rebuilding after the catastrophic fire.(Eddie Moore/Journal)Samuel Aragon stands, Monday, February 20, 2023, in his utility shed where more than a foot of silt has been washed in by floods from the from the Calf Canyon Hermit Peak Fire. The Aragons are one of three families the Journal spoke to recently about rebuilding after the catastrophic fire. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Sand bags protect Elisa and Samuel Aragon’s home from potential flooding from an arroyo near their property. The Aragons are one of three families the Journal spoke to recently about rebuilding after the catastrophic fire. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Samuel Aragon’s chainsaw is buried in silt inside his utility shed. Storm runoff from the Calf Canyon Hermit Peak Fire has destroyed Aragon’s farm equipment and is threatening his home off Mora County Road A023. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Samuel Aragon stands in his barn where a huge amount of silt has been washed in by floods at his home on Monday, February 20, 2023. Storm runoff from the Calf Canyon Hermit Peak Fire has destroyed much of his farm equipment and is threatening his home off Mora County Road A023. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Tommie Carter, 100, looks through her photos, cards and drawings, the few things she has left from her home that was destroyed by the Calf Canyon Hermit Peak Fire last spring. Carter and her family recently spoke to the Journal about rebuilding after the catastrophic fire. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Benito Sanchez has been living in the Crowne Point Hotel since his home was destroyed by the Calf Canyon Hermit Peak Fire last spring. Sanchez and his family recently spoke to the Journal about rebuilding after the catastrophic fire. (Eddie Moore/Journal)Diana Sanchez has been living in the Crowne Plaza Albuquerque hotel since her home was destroyed by the Calf Canyon Hermit Peak Fire last spring. She has decorated her hotel room with photos of her late husband Ben Sanchez. (Eddie Moore/Journal)A hand full of photos, cards and drawings sit next to,Tommie Carter. The memorabilia is what is left from her home that was destroyed by the Calf Canyon Hermit Peak Fire last spring. Unable to return to their home in Mora County, she, her daughter and grandson have been sharing a hotel room at the Crowne Plaza Albuquerque hotel for the last 10 months. (Eddie Moore/Journal)
Benito Sanchez and his 100-year old grandmother Tommie Carter have been living in the Crowne Plaza Albuquerque hotel since his home was destroyed by the Calf Canyon Hermit Peak Fire 10 months ago. (Eddie Moore/Journal)
Home » ABQnews Seeker » Story in pictures: The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire and the devastation that followed
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