Stories related to our ongoing coverage of environmental issues in New Mexico.
By Rodd Cayton Any number of incidents could create a need for residents to shelter in place, and a Placitas group is seeking to ensure they know the best ways to do so. Placitas Resilience & Emergency Preparedness Alliance (PREP), to that end, is presenting its next community briefing on that topic. PREP President Allen […]
By Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News — Following years of drought, the wells in Estancia, N.M., are running dry. After declaring a water emergency last week, the small town in Torrance County is hauling in water to fill its pipes. Estancia has also reduced water sales to the Torrance County Detention Facility, a federal immigration […]
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. After six days of evacuation, residents of Sierra de los Pinos can finally sleep in their own beds again. Sandoval County and fire officials began a phased return to the community Tuesday morning, even as crews continue battling the 712-acre McCauley Springs Fire east of Battleship Rock. The fire, burning […]
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Sandoval County is rolling out a new weapon in its war on mosquitoes this summer — a specialized truck that shoots a bacteria-laced mist 100 feet into the air to kill larvae before they ever become adults. The Public Health Road Runner 54564 truck goes into service in July, starting […]
Commentary by New Mexico State Senator Carrie Hamblen — More than a century ago, Theodore Roosevelt pioneered the American conservation movement. Using the Antiquities Act of 1906, he declared vast tracts of land as national monuments, notably the El Chaco, Morro, and Gila Cliffs National Monuments in New Mexico (subsequent presidents would later add Bandelier, […]
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Residents in two Sandoval County mountain communities must leave their homes immediately as firefighters battle a growing wildland blaze near Battleship Rock in the Jemez Mountains. Sandoval County Fire Rescue confirmed an evacuation GO order — meaning leave now — is in effect for Sierra Los Pinos and Vallecitos. The […]
By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper. Mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus have turned up in Bernalillo County, and health officials want residents to act before monsoon season makes things worse. The infected insects were collected near the Rio Grande through the joint mosquito surveillance program run by the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County, with testing […]
A lightning-caused wildfire south of Mountainair sent residents of the Deer Canyon neighborhood scrambling for safety over the weekend. The fire had burned over 100 acres and was 0% contained by Monday night and 15% on Tuesday, state forestry officials said. More than 140 crew were assigned to the fire including helicopter and bulldozer crews […]
By Alicia Inez Guzmán, Source New Mexico — With every spring snowmelt or heavy summer monsoon comes the chance that radioactive particles and toxic chemicals could run down the lobed canyons that are etched into the sides of the Pajarito Plateau and outside the boundaries of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Evidence of Cold War experiments […]
Earthquakes aren’t normally cause for much thought in the quiet desert landscape across Central New Mexico, but some Valencia County residents got a reminder on Sunday that the ground under their feet is still very much active. The Valencia County Fire Department’s Facebook page generated hundreds of comments after it shared that they had received […]
