Gusts, dryness could fan spring US wildfires again - By Susan Montoya Bryan And Margery A. Beck Associated Press
More of the dry, windy weather that helped fan rare spring wildfires from New Mexico to Nebraska is expected to threaten the progress that firefighters have made, officials said Thursday.
A swath of the country stretching from Arizona to the Texas panhandle is expected to be hit the hardest by the return of the bad firefighting weather that has generated unusually hot and fast-moving fires for this time of year, forecasters warned.
Red flag warnings of extreme wildfire danger have been issued for some of the same states that experienced blazes that raced across the landscape last week. The warnings were in place for all of New Mexico and parts of Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska.
In drought-stricken New Mexico, flames jumped a line built to corral the northwestern perimeter of a blaze that already destroyed an undetermined number of homes in several villages while marching across 100 square miles of meadows and mountainsides.
Some of the nearly 1,000 firefighters in New Mexico battling what has become that largest wildfire burning in the U.S. worked Thursday to prevent it from moving into the rural community of Ledoux. That meant bolstering fire lines and sending in crews tasked with protecting structures, said Jayson Coil, a firefighting operations section chief.
"We recognize that over the next two days we're going to have very unfavorable conditions with red flag warnings and then high winds — not as high as the big blow-up day last week but maybe 45 to 50 mph — and they're going to want to push that fire up to the northeast," he said.
That leads toward Ledoux, where many residents have already fled. Evacuations were kept in place for numerous other nearby communities.
Some light rain added moisture to bone dry vegetation in the Southwest early this week, but higher winds Wednesday likely dried out grass and other brush that can help fuel fires.
Authorities in northwestern New Mexico were refining the evacuation strategies that they were forced to quickly put in place last week, said San Miguel County Sheriff Chris Lopez.
"It doesn't mean it will happen but it could happen, just like we saw when this fire blew up," he said. "The danger is present and it's very real."
Authorities were still tallying how many homes had burned in the New Mexico fire. Some areas were still smoldering and officials reiterated that it was not yet safe enough to allow the return of some people who fled.
The Southwest has born the brunt of large fires. Five wildfire incident management teams have been mobilized to oversee the firefighting efforts, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
One team was overseeing a large prairie fire in Nebraska, where more than 200 firefighters were battling a blaze that has been burning since last week.
About 68 square miles of mostly grasses and farmland have been blackened near Nebraska's state line with Kansas, several homes were destroyed and at least one person was killed. That fire was 88% contained Thursday.
In Arizona, crews were trying to control two major wildfires, with strong winds on Wednesday pushing flames across more of the Prescott National Forest. Near Flagstaff, crews patrolled burned areas of another large fire amid milder weather that helps firefighting efforts.
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Beck reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Associated Press writer Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, contributed to this report.
New Mexico resolves 1987 lawsuit by developmentally disabled - Associated Press
A legal battle aimed at providing adequate services to people with developmental disabilities in New Mexico has come to a close after more than three decades.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Thursday that a final U.S. District Court order recognizes the state's establishment of a community-based system that protects the health and safety of intellectually and developmentally disabled New Mexico residents.
The case stems from a class-action lawsuit filed in 1987 that alleged civil rights violations on behalf of developmentally disabled residents at two state-supported institutions. Those facilities closed years ago, but the state's obligations continued under a series of stipulations and decrees.
The state estimates it has spent more than $80 million on the litigation — known as the Jackson v. New Mexico case.
In a court order this week, U.S. Magistrate Judge John Robbenhaar said the original violations have been remedied with lasting improvements.
"This case matters to many New Mexican families, some of whom would prefer to see federal oversight continue, with others accepting that the state will now chart its own course," Robbenhaar said. "The court concludes that the violations that existed at the commencement of this suit have been rectified, that the parties have crafted a durable remedy, and that the defendants have demonstrated a clear intent to safeguard in the long-term the constitutional and statutory rights ... of the developmentally disabled."
Jason Cornwell, director of the state division for developmental disabilities and supports, said the court order "makes clear that the system of care in New Mexico is sound, sustainable, and durable."
He also emphasized that state's mission is to ensure that individuals with disabilities can "live the lives that they prefer in the communities of their choice."
Big US energy transmission projects inch closer to approval - By Susan Montoya Bryan Associated Press
The federal government has finished another environmental review of a proposed transmission line that will carry wind-generated electricity from rural New Mexico to big cities in the West and similar reviews are planned for two more projects that would span parts of Utah and Nevada, the U.S. Interior Department announced Thursday.
The regulatory steps came a day after the Biden administration announced a $2.5 billion initiative to make the nation's power grid more effective at withstanding catastrophic disasters caused by climate change. It's also part of the administration's goal to create a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035.
The SunZia transmission project in New Mexico has been more than a decade in the making. After an initial review over several years, the Bureau of Land Management authorized a right-of-way grant on federal lands.
That had to be revisited when developers in 2021 submitted a new application modifying the route after the U.S. Defense Department and others raised concerns about the path of the high-voltage lines.
A final decision on the right of way application is expected this summer, following a public comment period.
The Biden administration is just the latest to promise speeding up development and modernization of the nation's energy infrastructure through expedited federal permitting and regulatory reforms. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump also vowed to roll back bureaucracy.
While the other two transmission projects are in the early stages of the regulatory process, the experience in New Mexico illustrates the complicated nature of getting electricity from remote areas to population centers.
The siting of hundreds of miles of transmission lines, power poles and electric substations often involve a checkerboard of private, state and federal land that sometimes include environmentally sensitive areas.
Federal officials said Thursday that the projects have the potential to move 10,000 megawatts of electricity generated by wind and solar resources.
"Transmission projects like those advanced today offer a promising path for diversifying our national energy portfolio and connecting more renewable energy, while at the same time combatting climate change and investing in communities," Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement.
Aside from new transmission lines, maintenance and repair costs for existing electricity infrastructure have ballooned to more than $40 billion annually as many utilities struggle to upgrade decades-old equipment. Customers usually bear the costs.
Ice storms, hurricanes, wildfires and other extreme weather have knocked out large parts of U.S. electrical networks with increasing frequency in recent years, according to an Associated Press analysis that found power outages from severe weather doubled over the past two decade.
New Mexico's renewable energy authority is among those invested in the SunZia project, which would include about 520 miles of transmission lines and a network of substations for getting wind and solar power to Arizona and California. The anchor tenant is Pattern Energy, which has been busy building massive wind farms in central New Mexico.
The proposed Greenlink West Transmission Project in Nevada would run through seven counties from Las Vegas to Reno.
NV Energy has said its investment of more than $2.5 billion in the project is expected to generate $690 million in economic activity and generate thousands of construction jobs.
And the proposed Cross-Tie Transmission Project would be made up of 214 miles of high-voltage lines between central Utah and east-central Nevada within federally designated utility corridors or parallel to existing transmission facilities.
Developers have said the project would relieve congestion on other key regional transmission lines and increase the ability for California, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming to import and export renewable energy.
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Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed to this report.
Agency: Man fatally shot by officer was homicide suspect - Associated Press
A man fatally shot by a New Mexico State Police officer during an April 16 encounter along Interstate 40 was a North Carolina resident sought in a homicide in that state, the police agency said Thursday.
The shooting occurred near Prewitt during a struggle after the officer was dispatched to check on the welfare of a man seen slumped over a car's steering wheel, the agency said in a statement.
When contacted by the officer, Oliver Ashley Toledo Saldivar, 26 got out of the car and charged and tackled the officer, who then shot Saldivar, the statement said.
Saldivar was able to retrieve a gun from his jacket before the officer grabbed the gun and threw it away, the statement said.
A passing truck driver stopped and helped the officer subdue Saldivar, who died at the scene, the statement said.
When the incident occurred, the officer wasn't aware that Saldivar was a suspect in an April 12 homicide in Durham, the statement said.
16 states that want to electrify USPS fleet file lawsuits - By David Sharp Associated Press
California and 15 states, including New Mexico, that want the U.S. Postal Service to electrify its mail delivery vehicles are suing to halt purchases of thousands of gas-powered trucks as the agency modernizes its delivery fleet.
Three separate lawsuits, filed by the states and environmental groups Thursday in New York and California, ask judges to order a more thorough environmental review before the Postal Service moves forward with the next-generation delivery vehicle program.
Plaintiffs contend that purchases of fossil fuel-powered delivery vehicles will cause environmental harm for decades to come.
"Louis DeJoy's gas-guzzling fleet guarantees decades of pollution with every postcard and package," said Scott Hochberg, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, referring to the postmaster general.
Attorneys general from 16 states — 14 of which have Democratic governors — sued in San Francisco. A separate lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity, Earthjustice, CleanAirNow KC and Sierra Club was filed in the same venue. Another was filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council and United Auto Workers in New York.
All of three of them target the environmental review underpinning the Postal Service's planned purchase of up to 165,000 next-generation delivery vehicles over the next decade.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said it's key to stop the process before it's too late.
"Once this purchase goes through, we'll be stuck with more than 100,000 new gas-guzzling vehicles on neighborhood streets, serving homes across our state and across the country, for the next 30 years. There won't be a reset button," he said.
The Postal Service defended the process it followed under DeJoy, a wealthy former logistics executive and Republican donor who was appointed by a board of governors controlled by then-President Donald Trump.
"The Postal Service conducted a robust and thorough review and fully complied with all of our obligations under (the National Environmental Policy Act)," spokesperson Kim Frum said Thursday in an email.
The Postal Service contract calls for 10% of the new vehicles to be electric but the Postal Service contends more electric vehicles can be purchased based on financial outlook and strategic considerations.
The percentage of battery-electric vehicles was doubled — to 20% — in the initial $2.98 billion order for 50,000 vehicles.
Environmental advocates contend the Postal Service's environmental review was inadequate and flawed, and that the contract represented a missed opportunity to electrify the fleet and reduce emissions.
The review process "was so rickety and riddled with error that it failed to meet the basic standards of the National Environmental Policy Act," said Adrian Martinez, senior attorney on Earthjustice's Right to Zero campaign.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said the Postal Service used "fatally flawed decision-making" that led to an outcome that was "fiscally and environmentally irresponsible." New York is among the plaintiffs.
The lawsuits could further delay the Postal Service's efforts to replace the ubiquitous delivery trucks that went into service between 1987 and 1994.
If the parties can't agree on a settlement, the lawsuit could drag on for months, possibly into next year, if there are appeals, said University of Richmond School of Law professor Carl Tobias.
The new gasoline-powered vehicles would get 14.7 miles per gallon without air conditioning, compared to 8.4 mpg for the older vehicles, the Postal Service said.
All told, the Postal Service's fleet includes 190,000 local delivery vehicles. More than 141,000 of those are the old models that lack safety features like air bags, anti-lock brakes and backup cameras.
The new vehicles are taller to make it easier for postal carriers to grab packages and parcels that make up a greater share of volume. They also have improved ergonomics and climate control.
The states that sued are New Mexico, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District in California, District of Columbia and city of New York joined that lawsuit, as well.
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Sharp reported from Portland, Maine.
Report: Albuquerque should shrink public schools, cut jobs - By Cedar Attanasio Associated Press / Report For America
Albuquerque's K-12 schools should cut staff and think about downsizing its footprint because of dwindling enrollment and spend more for the education of low-income students who fell further behind their peers during this school year, according to a report from the New Mexico Legislature made public Wednesday.
The report from the powerful Legislative Finance Committee recommended that Albuquerque Public Schools let go 400 of the district's 12,000 employees, but didn't specify how many of the district's increasingly empty schools it should shutter. The school district has 144 schools and 73,000 students, down from 85,000 six years ago.
Public schools in New Mexico have not recovered from the exodus of students that accelerated during the pandemic, with enrollment across the state and in Albuquerque still down about 4%, more than the average of 2.6% for 41 U.S. states.
Thousands of families in New Mexico amid the pandemic tried homeschooling or charter schools for the first time and didn't send their kids back to classrooms this year. Despite getting financing federal pandemic relief funds, most school districts across the U.S. now have fewer students and less funding than before the pandemic, forcing educators to consider cutting spending.
Rural districts across New Mexico also lost students, though often for different reasons.
"They went to Texas because their schools were open 100%," said state Sen. Gay Kernan, of Hobbs, in southeastern New Mexico on the Texas border, told Albuquerque education officials at the hearing where the report was delivered Wednesday. "Lesson learned."
Albuquerque should prioritize filling special education positions and offer bonuses to teachers in high-need positions at schools serving greater numbers of low-income students, the report said. The district currently has more than 600 job openings listed, many for special education instructors.
But many of the city's teachers are expected to retire this year, said Albuquerque Teachers Federation President Ellen Bernstein.
"I don't believe there will be cuts — there are still shortages," she said.
She said the district is already transferring teachers from emptier schools to fuller ones.
The district's low-income students are learning, but their advancement in reading and math is much slower than their more privileged peers, the report stated.
Higher rates of absenteeism for the district's students and fewer learning days are part of the problem. This year, 36% of Albuquerque's students missed at least 10 days of school, including excused absences for illness or sports, compared to 30% of students statewide.
The New Mexico Legislature has put aside around $40 million in funding for Albuquerque Public Schools to fund extra learning days. Schools are still deciding if they'll take the money, and many are expected not to because teachers and parents want long summers.
The Legislature does periodic reviews of the state's public schools and the report about the district is the first conducted since 2007.
Albuquerque enrollment declined 17% over the past decade, driven by lower birth rates and growth at charter schools. Meanwhile, per-student funding increased by 49% and achievement gaps between low-income and other students in reading and math widened in Albuquerque more than in the rest of the state.
The report also documented rising facility costs and a 21% increase in learning space, even as enrollment dropped.
While the report did not explicitly recommend closing schools, Albuquerque Superintendent Scott Elder read between the lines speaking to lawmakers Wednesday, calling that section of the report "a bit of euphemism for closing schools." He said that closing schools was a "charged issue" for parents, and could create additional costs.
"If we shut schools, kids that live close to that school have to be transported to their new school, so we would have significant impacts on transportation," said Elder.
In a written response to the committee's report, said increased funding is often tied to salary increases and cannot be used to fund services for at-risk youth. He also pointed out that while overall enrollment is down, low-income and other at-risk students represent a larger share of the student population.
The district is already transferring teachers from emptier schools to fuller ones, said Bernstein, the union president. She said uncertainty over who will be moved and when is causing "incredible stress" for teachers, but gave the district credit for transferring teachers now instead of during the fall, when transfers normally happen. Earlier transfers are better for students and staff, Bernstein said.
While the district has said since 2019 that it should craft a five-year plan to manage its finances amid projected drops in enrollment and funding, the report said that hasn't happened and that they are common for other large New Mexico districts even though they are not required by law.
District officials have announced that cuts are needed and asked parents and staff to offer ideas to reduce costs in recent months.
The legislative committee that drafted the report credited Albuquerque Public Schools for increased oversight of outside contracts ranging from face masks to learning software, potentially cutting down on fraud and waste. It also recognized the district for having low administrative spending of about 4%, on par with districts of its size nationally.
Inside the fire evacuation zone, people protect animals, homes and each other - Shaun Griswold, Source New Mexico
It was like running from a ball of fire when Dennis Garcia finally got into his car and drove away from his property surrounded by flames on Friday.
He returned the next day, he said, pleading with police to allow him past their road closure so he could check on his livestock.
He got in.
He chose to stay and take action, turning farm equipment — an old truck, a water tank and some hoses — into what he describes as a “fire attack machine.” Along with his daughter Christina and Daniel Padilla, the trio created a fire line around their property because they noticed fire crews in the area were too spread out to stop any fires igniting around his home.
“We put out 16 hotspots around here,” Garcia said, pointing to areas surrounding his property in Peñasco Blanco, just north of N.M. Highway 518. “Luckily, they let me in, and we saved a lot of structures.”
Much of his property, including his home and livestock, remained untouched by the fire on Wednesday.
The commitment to protect the community is shared by the hundreds of people who remain in Mora County despite heavy smoke, the nearby wildfire and a mandatory evacuation order.
“If we evacuated, we would have lost all of this by now,” Padilla said. “We had to stay.”
The Hermits Peak Fire started as a prescribed burn in the Santa Fe National Forest that became uncontrollable, according to federal fire officials. It merged with the Calf Canyon fire spread by the heavy winds last week.
Federal, state, county and volunteer fire crews are working the massive combo fire. Wednesday, it was reportedly 20% contained and had burned more than 60,000 acres. While fire crews praised the work of creating burn lines, the forecast this week could cause more problems. Winds are picking up and expected to increase in speed until Friday.
Although the San Miguel Sheriff reopened N.M. Highway 518 on Tuesday to allow people access into Mora, police are still blocking roads into the higher mountains and letting residents in only under special circumstances. The evacuation orders stand.
Police are also cracking down on access by saying they won’t allow people back into the area if they leave, so residents are committed to staying as long as possible, hoping the fire defense lines set up Tuesday will help stop blaze from heading toward their homes.
While it’s a little unclear exactly how many people remain in the evacuation zone, state Rep. Roger Montoya told Source New Mexico that at least 300 people are still there. That the number is likely higher and could be increasing as more residents want to get back into the rural county to check on family, homes and feed livestock left behind.
Another way to gauge how many people remain in the evacuated area is through the volunteer aid services delivering food to people. Kristy Wolf is part of the Mora Shot Rangers, a group that formed to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to people unable to get to a nearby town.
“Clinics were booked fully, and it was hard for our elderly residents to even set up appointments,” Wolf said. “So we went to them.”
Now the group is distributing hundreds of meals twice a day to volunteer firefighters and meeting up with people staying home in the mountain villages that line N.M. Highway 434.
Wolf’s phone buzzes throughout the day with text messages and phone calls from people who are out of the county but want to make sure their family member inside the evacuation zone is OK and fed a hot meal.
Tuesday night, more than 200 meals were distributed. But the list keeps growing, and even more meals were being prepared for the Wednesday morning breakfast delivery.
Wolf and her friend Clifford Regensberg can cross the police lines blocking access to the most rural roads because they have meals to distribute. The pair know the mountain like the back of their hand. “That’s where we used to go swimming,” Wolf points towards a dry acequia. “But that was when we had snow on top of the mountain all year. That hasn’t happened in years.”
They have a list for deliveries but continue to think of more people they should check on.
Electricity in parts of the region was turned off for safety reasons, though some power lines near the perimeter were restored Wednesday.
Regensberg, who lives just north of Mora, has been without power at home but said he feels safe even with smoke building into the mountains just miles from his backyard.
There are several ridges the fire would have to cross before it gets to his house, he said.
“So I figured as soon as I’d see the fire on top of either one of those ridges, I’d make an exit and run for it.” That’s why he decided to stay to feed the neighbors’ dogs and cats. “And I feel more comfortable staying at home, actually.”
After a food drop off, Regensberg wants to check on a home about a mile from his house. “I heard they are there,” he said.
There they meet with David Martinez and five of his family members. The house does have a generator for power, but Martinez is keeping an eye on the smoke and said he is ready to go if needed. He is also a wildland firefighter, deployed last week to Jemez to fight the Cerro Pelado Fire. He was forced to protect his home the moment he returned.
“They called me to a fire, but I can’t go, because I want to protect my land, my home,” he said. “I’ve been fighting fires all my life, but it is scary. They already evacuated us. But I mean, I have 14 chihuahuas in these sheds, and then I have four big dogs. So that’s 18 dogs that I have to take care of, and I’m not going to leave them.”
Animals, pets and livestock are a deep concern for this agricultural community, and many people are asking the Wolf’s team for dog or cat food.
The parking lot of a feed store in Mora has turned into the de facto supply distribution zone. Elena Olivas and her mom Wanda Salazar are staying in Mora to protect their livestock.
Olivas, 11, is a 4-H kid and wants to stay as long as possible to protect the livestock. “I have 11 horses over here. I have three pigs, a lamb, a goat. We have all my dad’s cows. He has about 50. We have a lot of animals here.”
The pair showed up to the parking lot to pick up animal feed that was donated to the community and 4-H students who evacuated with their animals.
“We really can’t leave. The food is helpful,” Salazar said after volunteers loaded up several large bags of animal feed in her truck.
The family did return after fleeing Mora on Friday, a harrowing experience that the young Olivas described. “It was crazy, because early (Friday) morning it had to jump like five mountains before it even got to us.”
She said the smoke and wind caused a fog that made it nearly impossible to see while they packed. As the family headed out, she could see the flames over on top of the nearby peaks.
“I was about to start crying because of how fast it was taking over everything, like how fast it traveled,” she said.
Their home was not destroyed, and their livestock are good — for now. The go-bags are ready if needed, especially after seeing the destruction the fire caused in the higher mountains.
“It’s sad. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. And now you go up there. It’s clear, nothing,” Olivas said.
Wolf’s phone buzzes again, and she takes off with Regensberg to a relative’s house because some more people need food. “How many do they have?” she asks the caller. “Four, and two across from the house. OK we’re on the way.”
When they arrive, Salomon Olivas is on a tractor putting out a hot spot about 100 feet away from the house.
His in-laws are cleaning up their water well that caught fire on Friday. Burn scars are everywhere. The closest one is 5 feet from the backyard porch.
“I left. We all left,” Solomon said. “Now we came back to see what we can do — try to keep the hotspots away and turn them out, and make sure nothing happens again.”
He points to his house down the hill that somehow evaded much of the fire. A clear patch of grass untouched by the flames surrounds his home. He is also preparing to leave again if needed, moving livestock closer to the highway.
Until then, he remains, and like everyone still inside Mora County, keeps his eyes to the mountain.
New Mexico adapts to same-day registration in primary voting - Associated Press
Recent changes in New Mexico election law are making it easier for unaffiliated voters to participate in the June 7 primary election if they chose to affiliate with a major party — even briefly.
Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver on Wednesday highlighted the opportunity for voters who are affiliated with a minor party or decline affiliation to participate in the statewide primary by picking a major party affiliation on site at election-day polling places and county clerks' offices.
She said that the registration-update process can take as little as five minutes, starting on May 10, and is reversible after the election. Same-day registration will be available at some additional early voting locations, as determined by county clerks.
People already registered to vote under a major party — Republican, Democratic or Libertarian — cannot switch parties during the election period from May 10 through June 7.
Toulouse Oliver said that new access to primary voting is especially important in competitive primaries that are likely to decide who takes office.
"Where the primary election is the only election, now these folks who previously have not been able to participate in that election do have an opportunity to make their voices heard," said Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat.
New Mexico remains a "closed primary" state that requires affiliation with a major party in order to vote in a primary.
People who decline to state a party preference or belong to a minor political party account for nearly one-fourth of registered voters in New Mexico.
Bob Perls, founder of the voting-access advocacy group New Mexico Open Primaries, said the new provisions could influence the outcome of primary races with close margins and compel primary-election candidates to court a broader segment of voters.
Toulouse Oliver is running for reelection as a Democrat without a primary competitor, prior to a three-way general election contest against Republican Audrey Trujillo and Libertarian Mayna Myers.