Wildfire

As the Southwest heads into peak fire season, the Trump Administration’s cuts to federal agencies are set to hit some local recreational economies hard – especially as conditions ripen for wildfire.

The core of the law aims to put the money into people’s hands to “fire-proof” their homes. But some lawmakers worried it may violate New Mexico’s constitution.

Fire insurance is becoming increasingly expensive and hard to come by in areas ravaged by wildfire in recent years. New Mexico’s lawmakers – and the governor – are hoping to tackle the problem with several proposals this legislative session, one of which is rarely seen in the insurance market.

As several fires continue to burn in the Los Angeles area, New Mexico deployed personnel and equipment to California Thursday.

The New Mexico Office of Superintendent of Insurances is seeing a substantial increase in insurance providers canceling or not renewing coverage plans for homes in wildfire-prone areas.

State and federal officials held a virtual town hall Tuesday night to update victims of the South Fork and Salt Fires and subsequent flooding on available disaster assistance. Residents were encouraged to apply broadly and persevere through red tape as recovery gets underway.

The Indios Fire, which has been burning in the Santa Fe National Forest since May 19, is not expected to grow any larger, according to fire officials. As the fire dies down along with the complexity of the situation, command of the firefighting effort changed hands Monday from a regional team to a local one.

Kim Wright, a retired nurse, volunteers with the Cimarron Watershed Alliance. A year ago she learned that the federal government was awarding more than $8 million to the alliance to help nine northern New Mexico communities better defend themselves against wildfire. Those communities are still awaiting signs of on-the-ground wildfire preparedness as fire season fast approaches.

The National Climate Assessment, which comes out every five years, finds fires are expected to get hotter, more destructive and more widespread.

Many private landowners and small organizations conduct controlled burns in New Mexico, but the federal guidelines can be of limited help to them. A new voluntary certification program called for by a 2021 law is now up and running to teach New Mexicans how to safely conduct a prescribed burn.kunm