With fire recovery, much depends on the intensity of the burn and how clean it is. Some fires leave the land looking like a moonscape when they are finished, while others burn so little you have to look closely the next year to find evidence of where they burned. What I am hearing about the Gila burn suggests it is intense and will not be controlled for weeks. After it is controlled it will still be patrolled until there is no further risk of the fire coming back to life. With a "dirty burn", one where the fire misses much burnable material, I would expect the animals could move back within a few weeks of the fire. While working for the Forest Service, I have seen deer and elk within active burn areas. I have seen them bedded in ashes with smoke still popping up at numerous places nearby shortly after the crews left. Dad shot as nice a buck as I remember him ever killing in an area he and a logging crew were burning. That said I would anticipate an intense burn with much human activity to displace the elk. The burn, the amount and duration of activity will be factors affecting elk activity there. It sure would be easy and cheap to call a few weeks before your season and ask the Forest Service and the NM Department of Fish and Wildlife what the hunting conditions will be like. Keep us posted on what you find out.
