MANY PEOPLE LIVING IN THE JEMEZ MOUNTAINS HAVE HOMES TUCKED INTO THE FOREST.

THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH NATURE ARE INTIMATE AND SOMETIMES TRICKY.

A FEW YEARS AGO, TOM SWETNAM MOVED BACK TO THE JEMEZ WHERE HE GREW UP.

MY FATHER WAS A FOREST RANGE, AND SO WE LIVED HERE IN THE 1960S.

THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN HOME.

NEW MEXICO HAS ALWAYS BEEN HOME, SO I'M COMING HOME.

SWETNAM IS A TREE RING EXPERT AND EMERITUS PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA.

HE STUDIES DROUGHT AND FAST FIRES AND TREE RING RECORDS, AND HE'S SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WELL HOW FIRES IN THE SOUTHWEST ARE BECOMING BIGGER AND HOTTER.

WHEN I TOLD SOME FOLKS THAT I WAS MOVING TO JEMEZ SPRINGS AND I WAS MOVING UP INTO THIS NEIGHBORHOOD, THEY SAID, YOU'RE MOVING WHERE?

RIGHT UP INTO THE FOREST, RIGHT INTO THE SO-CALLED WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A PRETTY DENSE AND DANGEROUS FOREST.

YEAH, I THINK PEOPLE WERE PRETTY SURPRISED AT ME, WHO I'VE BEEN PREACHING ABOUT FIRE PROBLEMS AND HOUSES IN FORESTS AS A PROBLEM, THAT I WOULD MOVE TO A PLACE LIKE THAT.

ALL OVER THE JEMEZ, THERE'S PROBABLY MORE THAN A THOUSAND HOMES BUILT WITHIN FORESTS LIKE THIS, PONDEROSA PINE, THAT ARE REALLY OVERGROWN WITH TOO MANY FUELS NOW, AND AS WE COME INTO DROUGHT SEASON, THE RISK FOR FIRE IS GETTING JUST GREATER AND GREATER.

DECADES OF FIRE SUPPRESSION ON TOP OF DROUGHT AND A WARMER CLIMATE HAVE CREATED CONDITIONS THAT MAKE FIRES BURN FASTER AND HOTTER THAN IN PAST CENTURIES.

THINNING FORESTS CAN HELP REDUCE THAT RISK AND PEOPLE CAN ALSO PREPARE THEIR HOMES.

A FIREWISE HOME MEANS THAT IT'S LESS LIKELY TO CATCH ON FIRE AS A FIRE COMES, APPROACHES IT AND PASSES BY.

AND SO WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO IS TO KEEP THE FIRE FROM STARTING ON ANY PART OF THE STRUCTURE, ESPECIALLY ANY WOODEN PARTS OF THE STRUCTURE, ANY EXPOSED WOOD.

SO YOU MOVE THE FUELS AWAY FROM THE HOUSE, AND THE FARTHER AWAY, THE BETTER.

30 FEET TO 50 FEET IS SORT OF THE MINIMUM.

YOU WANT TO GET YOUR FIREWOOD AWAY FROM THE HOUSE, YOU WANT TO GET TREES AWAY FROM THE HOUSE, AND YOU WANT TO HAVE CLEARED SPACE AROUND THE HOUSE.

IN ADDITION TO ALL THE FUEL THAT'S AROUND TYPICALLY THESE HOUSES UP HERE, COMMONLY YOU'LL SEE THESE OUTDOOR PROPANE TANKS, AND THOSE ARE A BIG RISK BECAUSE IF FIRE GETS UNDER THOSE AND STARTS HEATING THEM UP, THEY WILL POP OFF A SAFETY VALVE AND START SHOOTING FLAMES OUT OF THE TOP OF THEM, AND IF THAT SAFETY VALVE DOESN'T WORK LIKE IT IS SUPPOSED TO, IT WILL BLOW UP AND GO OFF LIKE A BOMB.

SWETNAM SAYS HE STILL HAS WORK TO DO AROUND HIS OWN PROPERTY TO MAKE SURE HE'S READY FOR WHAT MIGHT BE AN EARLY FIRE SEASON.

HE'S GOING TO REMOVE OLD WOOD NEAR THE HOUSE, BURY THAT PROPANE TANK, AND MAYBE CUT MORE TREES.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE THINKING AHEAD, NOT JUST FOR YOUR OWN HOME, BUT FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR NEIGHBORS AND THE FIREFIGHTERS WHO COME IN WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS EVACUATING.

FIREFIGHTERS HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES TRYING TO SAVE HOMES, BUT IF YOU HAVE TREATED AROUND YOUR HOME AND REMOVED THE FUELS AROUND YOUR HOME, IT'S MUCH MORE DEFENSIBLE, SO THE FIREFIGHTERS ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO COME IN THERE AND ACTUALLY TRY TO SAVE YOUR HOME AND IT'S A SAFER PLACE FOR THEM TO BE WHEN THEY'RE TRYING TO PUT THE FIRE OUT.

AND LIKEWISE, FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS, IF YOU DON'T TREAT YOUR PROPERTY, BUT YOUR NEIGHBOR DOES, YOUR NEIGHBOR IS STILL AT GREAT RISK, BECAUSE YOUR HOUSE MAY BURN AND CAUSE EMBERS AND HEAT AND FLAMES TO COME OVER ONTO THEIR HOUSE.

SO WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER WITH THE FIREFIGHTERS AND THE COMMUNITY.

IT'S MORE ABOUT DOING THIS NOT JUST FOR YOURSELF, BUT FOR EVERYONE.

THIS YEAR'S DRY CONDITIONS ARE SCARY, ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITHIN THE FOREST.

SWETNAM SAYS PEOPLE CAN PROTECT THEIR HOMES AND THEIR COMMUNITIES.

KEEP TRACK OF LOCAL WEATHER CONDITIONS, KEEP IN TOUCH WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS AND OFFICIALS, AND KNOW WHEN IT'S TIME TO LEAVE.

FOR NEW MEXICO InFOCUS AND 'OUR LAND,' I'M LAURA PASKUS.