[1][2] It has been described by forester Bill Armstrong as "a wakeup call that nobody woke up to", anomalous at the time but an indicator of future high-intensity fires[3] that are becoming more common due to both local and global environmental changes.

It became a plume-dominated fire in which huge updrafts pulled burning embers high into the clouds and then collapsed.

[9] Resources deployed included 15 fire engines, 7 water tenders, 7 helicopters, 5 air tankers, 4 bulldozers,[10] and at least 800 firefighters.

[9] On May 1, 1996 it was reported that firefighters had used a controlled burn to prevent the fire from reaching Los Alamos National Laboratory.

[5] The fire had multiple ecological effects including fire-induced acceleration of erosion, landslides, and unprecedented postfire flooding.