Hello FACNM Members,
We are all dealing with tough and uncertain times with the rapid changes due to Covid-19, and the networks that we’ve built are more important than ever. The Fire Adapted Communities New Mexico network makes us more resilient during emergencies and will help us navigate this situation.
Community Wildfire Preparedness Day Plans
Many of you had plans for community wildfire preparedness day that have most likely been postponed or altered, so we want to share this list of ideas for wildfire preparedness day with social distancing in mind. With the speed of change, some of the ideas on here that would have been appropriate a week ago may not fit the State of New Mexico’s current orders. Given that uncertainty, please use your best judgment and feel free to reach out if you want to talk with a Fire Adapted Communities coordinator. We can help with ideas and some video conferencing technology. You can reach us at gabe@forestguild.org or sam@forestguild.org.
Wildfire Season and Covid-19
This year wildfire response will be impacted since our first line response agencies will be strained and we need to take new precautions to protect our firefighters from Covid-19. Especially in our local communities, the first line of response will be less robust than it’s been in previous years. This puts even more emphasis than usual on doing what we can safely do to prepare ourselves and our homes for wildfire.
We will be coming up with materials and programs like webinars and videos to help, but in general, the important ideas are that same as always. Take advantage of extra time at home to add wildfire mitigation and household evacuation readiness to your spring cleaning tasks. Here are some ideas:
- Sign up to receive local emergency alerts.
- Set up a neighborhood text tree that lets you send an email via text. This allows for rapid and detailed sharing of emergency information in your neighborhood.
- Prepare your home as much as you can for wildfire. Visit the link for ideas, there is a lot we can do from home with no supplies like raking or moving wood plies.
- Prepare an evacuation kit or go bag.
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. - Theodore Roosevelt
Best, Sam