GLORIETA — Firefighters battling blazes in the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez Mountains in Northern New Mexico raced Saturday to prepare for several days of what fire and weather officials described as “unprecedented” and “historic” weather conditions, with heavy gusts and temperatures reaching into the low 80s.
“Today is the turn of the weather for us,” said Dave Bales, an incident commander for the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fire, during an afternoon briefing.
While the fight was expected to intensify, officials offered some good news, too.
Las Vegas, N.M., police Chief Antonio Salazar and Mayor Louie Trujillo said city residents who have evacuated their homes are now able to return, and businesses can reopen.
The city’s water system and water supply remain safe, Trujillo added.
Bales said utility companies have been working on repairs to infrastructure in some areas affected by the fire, which has grown to nearly 173,000 acres, and crews are able to begin damage assessments.
Crews had been on the ground, “one foot in the black, one foot in the green,” over the previous days to build protections around homes, Bales said, and they were expecting minimal damage to structures, even as they braced for winds to push the wildfire farther to the north and south.
The number of personnel assigned to the fire increased to 1,535, and officials said they expected additional fire engines and bulldozers to join the fight this weekend.
Bill Morse, a spokesman for incident management team overseeing the blaze, also described an optimistic outlook for forested areas in the fire zone: “It’s not a stand replacement where there is nothing left,” he said, explaining high winds have moved the wildfire so quickly across some terrain, it has left little damage.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich and his staff traveled to Las Vegas and Glorieta on Saturday to visit with evacuees and volunteers and discuss their needs, not just during the evacuation period but for the longer-term recovery — an effort he said could last as long as a year.
The New Mexico Democrat spent time at the Old Memorial Middle School in Las Vegas, where a couple of dozen people have taken shelter and countless others come for needed supplies after fleeing their homes.
He and his team also met with people staying at Glorieta Adventure Camps southeast of Santa Fe, which is accommodating about 700 evacuees, including high school students from United World College in Montezuma.
They offered direct assistance to those affected by the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fire, helping them navigate the complicated process of applying for benefits.
Miguel Negrete and Jason Jarvis, members of Heinrich’s staff, set up a table at the Glorieta shelter.
“There’s a whole series of financial assistance measures that become available once a federal emergency is declared,” Heinrich said in an interview. “Part of that process, people have to get in the system.”
It’s a system some evacuees have been struggling to access, he added.
“Initially, their applications aren’t approved, and they can take that as a rejection. The reality is, usually that just means you need more information,” Heinrich said. “So folks like Miguel and Jason are here, helping people get into that system, access the benefits that they may need, whether that’s employment assistance or direct compensation for losing a home or other property.”
Heinrich’s visit came just a few days after President Joe Biden declared New Mexico wildfires an emergency, allowing funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and other federal agencies to be directed to the state.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a briefing Friday residents affected by the fire can immediately apply for up to $500 in federal aid that would deposited into checking accounts as early as this week.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Friday it was providing immediate foreclosure relief to homeowners in the disaster area, making mortgage insurance available to those with homes destroyed by the fire and offering other programs for housing and home repairs.
Heinrich said state and federal officials are also looking into other ways they can offer support in the long run, including mental health care.
“That recovery takes years. This is one of those commitments that is not just about what we can do today,” Heinrich said. “These kinds of traumatic events — where people lose a home, for example — you don’t process that in a short amount of time. … We’re going to need to build a stronger behavioral health infrastructure to support those various citizens.”
Joshua Nelson, Glorieta Adventure Camps’ executive assistant, said there are representatives from 12 organizations, including FEMA and the American Red Cross, helping to ensure the needs of evacuees at the site are being met — from basic hygiene and food to medical and mental health services.
Officials with the New Mexico Office of Peer Recovery and Engagement spoke with evacuees about the emotional burden of a natural disaster, while the New Mexico Medical Reserve Corps said it would ensure people with medical conditions get the care they need.
Nelson said he decided to open the camp to evacuees about two weeks ago when Lujan Grisham called asking for help.
“We talked about the staff and said, ‘Man, why not?’ We’ll do it for as long as we can,” Nelson said.
However, he said the shelter will be forced to close May 28 for the start of the Glorieta Adventure Camps’ annual summer camp; he already has talked to evacuees about relocating if they are unable to return to their homes by then.
Travis Martinez, a spokesman for the Emergency Operations Center of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said in a briefing Saturday the state has six or seven shelters on standby if the need arises for more space to house evacuees.
He also announced the state has a new hotline for those affected by the fire to learn how to access supplies and emergency shelters, how to donate and how to report property damage. Residents should call 800-432-2080 and select option 4.
Later in the day, the city of Santa Fe announced the Red Cross will establish a new shelter at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center on Rodeo Road.
In the meantime, fire crews will be working around the clock amid what meteorologist Bladen Breitreiter called an “intense and critical weather setup,” with high, dry winds lasting through the night and gusts of 50-55 mph arriving in the late morning and heavier gusts coming Monday.
High winds are expected to last at least through Thursday.
Todd Abel, an operations section chief for the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fire, said helicopters and planes were grounded around 1 p.m. Saturday when breezes began to strengthen, and it was unclear when they would be able to fly again to aid in the firefight.
The Cerro Pelado Fire near Jemez Springs, which has grown to nearly 35,000 acres, remains just 11 percent contained and has edged north into the Valles Caldera National Preserve.
More than 800 personnel are fighting to contain the fire, but meteorologist Scott Stearns and fire behavior analyst Robert Burnside warned of significant growth in the days to come, with gusts of up to 80 mph and higher temperatures.
The eastern side of the fire, which remains about five miles from Los Alamos National Laboratory property and 10 miles from the community of Los Alamos, is most at risk for growth, Burnside said.
He added, “Expect very high rates of spread” if smoldering debris pushed by winds ignites spot fires.