wildfires

As climate change makes wildfires more frequent, researchers from here at the University of New Mexico say the smoke — which can drift for thousands of miles — is linked to worse mental health. The new study found a week after exposure to wildlife smoke participants’ mental health scores were at their lowest, but after three weeks scores were close to normal.

Earlier this month, the Department of the Interior submitted court documents outlining its plans to lay off just over 2,000 employees nation-wide amid the ongoing government shutdown. While these firings have been put on hold, for now, they could strip New Mexico of already scarce wildfire research resources.

All of New Mexico’s largest active wildfires have ignited in areas facing the most severe drought conditions in the entire country.

A warming climate — fueled in part by the state’s oil and gas production — has parched rivers and turned forests to tinder.

A new national forecast warns that above-normal wildfire risk will exist through most of New Mexico by April. Meanwhile, federal cuts could leave one-third of the state without dispatchers to monitor for nascent blazes and fewer firefighters to respond if they blow up.silver

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

Water dominated many news stories in New Mexico in 2024 as the state looks ahead to a drier future.

Though the flames may be out from this summer's Salt and South Fork wildfires in southern New Mexico, damage to property and the local economy remain. During a legislative committee meeting Wednesday, Ruidoso-area leaders discussed their community’s challenges, but also its resilience.

At least ten fire victims have received letters saying that extensive claims for property damage could not be substantiated.