Category: New Mexico

4 Dead After Sheriff’s Office Helicopter Crash in New Mexico

LAS VEGAS, N.M.—Four people have been killed in a crash of a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office helicopter that was headed back to Albuquerque after assisting firefighters in another New Mexico city, authorities said Sunday. Sheriff’s officials said three people from the sheriff’s office and a county firefighter were aboard the helicopter when it went down…


Massive New Mexico Blaze Blamed on Miscalculations, Errors

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—U.S. Forest Service employees made multiple miscalculations, used inaccurate models, and underestimated how dry conditions were in the Southwest, causing a planned burn to reduce the threat of wildfires to explode into the largest blaze in New Mexico’s recorded history, the agency said Tuesday. The agency quietly posted an 80-page review that details the…


At Indian Pueblo Kitchen, a Story Told in Feast Day Stew and Frybread

What is indigenous food, exactly? Monique Fragua is an expert on that question, a topic that delights her both personally and professionally. Born and raised in northern New Mexico’s Jemez Pueblo—where the rest of her extended family still lives—Fragua is the chief operating officer of commercial operations at Albuquerque’s Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC). That…


Biden Says Federal Govt. Will Cover ‘100 Percent’ of Recovery Costs for Wildfires in New Mexico

President Joe Biden said the government will cover “100 percent” of the recovery costs in response to the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s history, also the largest fire in the United States so far this year. The Calf Canyon Fire and the Hermits Peak Fire were originally “prescribed burns,” conducted as part of the U.S. Forest Service’s forest…


Government Will Cover ‘100 Percent’ of Recovery Costs for New Mexico Wildfires: Biden

President Joe Biden said the government will cover “100 percent” of the recovery costs in response to the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s history, also the largest fire in the United States so far this year. The Calf Canyon Fire and the Hermits Peak Fire were originally “prescribed burns,” conducted as part of the U.S. Forest Service’s forest…


Strong, Swirling Winds Complicate New Mexico Wildfire Fight

LAS VEGAS, N.M.—Strong, fast winds complicated work for firefighters in northeast New Mexico on Sunday as they battled two major blazes, though the rural area’s major population center appeared to finally be safe from the worst danger. “It’s been a challenging day. The winds have picked up; they haven’t let up,” fire spokesperson Todd Abel…


Biden Declares Disaster in New Mexico Wildfire Zone

LAS VEGAS—Firefighters slowed the advance of the largest wildfire in the United States as heavy winds relented on Wednesday, while President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration that brings new financial resources to remote stretches of New Mexico devastated by fire since early April. U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez announced the presidential disaster declaration during…


Bulldozers, Aircraft Used to Fight Fire Near New Mexico City

Over 1,000 firefighters backed by bulldozers and aircraft battled the largest active wildfire in the United States on Saturday after strong winds pushed it across some containment lines and closer to a small city in northern New Mexico. Mapping imagery indicated the fire that has burned at least 166 homes grew in size from 103…


Firefighters Battling New Mexico Blaze Brace for Wind

Over 1,000 firefighters backed by bulldozers and aircraft battled the largest active wildfire in the United States, after strong winds had pushed it across some containment lines and closer to a small city in northern New Mexico. Calmer winds on Saturday aided the firefighting effort after gusts accelerated the fire’s advance to a point on…


Crews Fight New Mexico Fire as Some Evacuations Lift

RUIDOSO, N.M.—Authorities have lifted some evacuation orders for a mountain community in southern New Mexico as firefighters worked Saturday to contain a wind-driven blaze that killed two people and destroyed over 200 homes. The evacuation orders lifted late Friday probably covered more than half of the estimated 4,000 people originally ordered to leave their homes…