Drought maps colored in cheerful red, orange and gold are anything but cheerful in their meaning. They confirm what ranchers already know, that it’s painfully dry here. Devastating wildfires in West Texas add an exclamation point.
If there’s any good news it’s that Congress and the Legislature are more attuned to the reality of fire.
The spending bill that just passed Congress includes more for wildland fire management. In fact, the online Source New Mexico reported it was a priority in the bill, according to summaries from both Senate Democrats and House Republicans.
The Wildland Fire Management program of the U.S. Forest Service will receive $2.3 billion, a $1.37 billion increase. And wildland firefighters will keep the pay increase that was passed in the 2021 infrastructure law.
State lawmakers this year approved funding for firefighter recruiting and training and new facilities.
New Mexico has upwards of 300 fire departments, and more than half of them operate with volunteers, according to the Department of Finance and Administration. We don’t have enough permanent firefighters or volunteers. The fund will help convert volunteer positions to full-time positions, strengthening fire departments in rural areas and reducing the need for volunteers.
“Right now we’re losing volunteers throughout the state and at a rapid pace,” State Fire Marshal Randy Varela told the online NM Political Report. “So, what we’re trying to do is not push the volunteers off, but we’re trying to bring up paid personnel in the rural areas.” He explained that volunteer firefighters, who have day jobs and families, can’t always respond quickly.
DFA says that increasing the number of certified firefighters would reduce response times and improve public safety in rural areas.
Capital outlay this year tells a similar story. Fire departments usually get their share of public project money, but this year I see a lot of money devoted to training. This year’s bill includes $3 million for a regional fire training academy and firefighter memorial in northern New Mexico. There’s $14 million for hotshot crew facilities in San Miguel and Socorro counties, as well as vehicles and equipment for wildland firefighting, and $5 million for watershed restoration and wildfire protection improvements, including forest thinning, statewide.
Hobbs will receive $1,424,000 for training facilities, including a fire training tower and public safety center. Money will also flow for fire training in Farmington, Ruidoso, Deming, El Rito, Española and Corrales.
Finally, our home-grown hero Smokey Bear will get his own license plate after the governor, who vetoed the bill last year, and certain members of the press carped about legislators wasting time. Maybe it wasn’t as compelling as crime or education, but nowhere in legislative news coverage did we learn this year is Smokey’s 80th anniversary.
The Albuquerque Journal carried a story after the session explaining that the Forest Service began using a bear mascot in 1944. In 1950 firefighters found a tiny cub with scorched feet clinging to a tree in Lincoln County. When it was clear the little bruin would survive, state Game and Fish Department employees started calling him Smokey. He became a popular attraction at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. On his death, he was returned to Capitan for burial. The town is home to the state Smokey Bear Historical Park.
I have some personal history with Smokey. When El Malpais Conservation Area Visitors Center held its opening celebration in 1991, my role was to wear a Smokey costume and greet visitors. Kids didn’t just want to see Smokey, they wanted to hug him, so Smokey dispensed hugs. I’d grown up with the baritone “Only YOU can prevent forest fires” but hadn’t appreciated how much Smokey is loved. A tip of the iconic felt Smokey hat to sponsor Rep. Harlan Vincent, R-Glencoe, for seeing the bill through.
Feds, State Fund Wildland Fire Management, Firefighters and Smokey Bear
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Drought maps colored in cheerful red, orange and gold are anything but cheerful in their meaning. They confirm what ranchers already know, that it’s painfully dry here. Devastating wildfires in West Texas add an exclamation point.
If there’s any good news it’s that Congress and the Legislature are more attuned to the reality of fire.
The spending bill that just passed Congress includes more for wildland fire management. In fact, the online Source New Mexico reported it was a priority in the bill, according to summaries from both Senate Democrats and House Republicans.
The Wildland Fire Management program of the U.S. Forest Service will receive $2.3 billion, a $1.37 billion increase. And wildland firefighters will keep the pay increase that was passed in the 2021 infrastructure law.
State lawmakers this year approved funding for firefighter recruiting and training and new facilities.
New Mexico has upwards of 300 fire departments, and more than half of them operate with volunteers, according to the Department of Finance and Administration. We don’t have enough permanent firefighters or volunteers. The fund will help convert volunteer positions to full-time positions, strengthening fire departments in rural areas and reducing the need for volunteers.
“Right now we’re losing volunteers throughout the state and at a rapid pace,” State Fire Marshal Randy Varela told the online NM Political Report. “So, what we’re trying to do is not push the volunteers off, but we’re trying to bring up paid personnel in the rural areas.” He explained that volunteer firefighters, who have day jobs and families, can’t always respond quickly.
DFA says that increasing the number of certified firefighters would reduce response times and improve public safety in rural areas.
Capital outlay this year tells a similar story. Fire departments usually get their share of public project money, but this year I see a lot of money devoted to training. This year’s bill includes $3 million for a regional fire training academy and firefighter memorial in northern New Mexico. There’s $14 million for hotshot crew facilities in San Miguel and Socorro counties, as well as vehicles and equipment for wildland firefighting, and $5 million for watershed restoration and wildfire protection improvements, including forest thinning, statewide.
Hobbs will receive $1,424,000 for training facilities, including a fire training tower and public safety center. Money will also flow for fire training in Farmington, Ruidoso, Deming, El Rito, Española and Corrales.
Finally, our home-grown hero Smokey Bear will get his own license plate after the governor, who vetoed the bill last year, and certain members of the press carped about legislators wasting time. Maybe it wasn’t as compelling as crime or education, but nowhere in legislative news coverage did we learn this year is Smokey’s 80th anniversary.
The Albuquerque Journal carried a story after the session explaining that the Forest Service began using a bear mascot in 1944. In 1950 firefighters found a tiny cub with scorched feet clinging to a tree in Lincoln County. When it was clear the little bruin would survive, state Game and Fish Department employees started calling him Smokey. He became a popular attraction at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. On his death, he was returned to Capitan for burial. The town is home to the state Smokey Bear Historical Park.
I have some personal history with Smokey. When El Malpais Conservation Area Visitors Center held its opening celebration in 1991, my role was to wear a Smokey costume and greet visitors. Kids didn’t just want to see Smokey, they wanted to hug him, so Smokey dispensed hugs. I’d grown up with the baritone “Only YOU can prevent forest fires” but hadn’t appreciated how much Smokey is loved. A tip of the iconic felt Smokey hat to sponsor Rep. Harlan Vincent, R-Glencoe, for seeing the bill through.