Hello all,
These trying times have shown us the power of our communities and networks to support one another. Our faith in the strength of networks and personal connections to affect change is the basis behind building the FACNM member and leader program.
With that in mind part of our intent with this blog is to create content that you can share with your community, neighborhood association, or any neighbor, friend, or relative. Please feel free to use any part of the newsletter to post or send. Just remember to add your own personal message, even if it’s a quick sentence or two, it’s the personal touches that help keep us going through this time of social distance!
Best, Sam
Stay informed – sign up for emergency alerts and wildfire notices.
Example of an Alert Santa Fe message.
Local emergency alerts are a crucial way to stay informed about wildfires and any other emergency notifications. These alerts allow emergency managers to send you timely information such as wildfire evacuation notices by text, landline phone, or email. You must sign up for these services to get the full benefits, so please do so and encourage your friends and neighbors too!
Many counties throughout New Mexico offer an alert system that will send you the latest information. After you register, the information you provide gives critical knowledge to emergency responders such as where the gas shutoff is on your house or medical conditions of family members.
Please contact your county administration, emergency manager, or your local volunteer fire department to ask how to sign up for your local alert system. For example here is the sign-up page for emergency alerts in Cibola County and Bernalillo County. Even if your county does not have a dedicated emergency alert system, there is most likely a reverse 911 system that can send the most urgent alerts.
For wildfire specific information, NM Fire Info is the best way to receive updates across all jurisdictions in New Mexico. This site is regularly updated with wildfire and prescribed fire information and will send email updates or, you can also follow them on Facebook or Twitter.
Fire response during the Covid-19 Pandemic
Wildland firefighters prep for new guidelines to protect against virus spread – Santa Fe New Mexican - April 4, 2020, by Amanda Martinez
Wildfires and the Pandemic – What’s Ahead – Western Fire Chiefs Association response to the Pandemic.
Meeting the Challenges of Covid 19 –Letter from the director of the Office of Wildland Fire in the Department Of Interior and outlines their response to Corona Virus.
The 2020 Fire Year: Managing risk in a pandemic – Letter from the Chief of the Forest Service
Forest Service Coronavirus (Covid-19) Updates – Nationwide guidance on Coronavirus impacts on Forest Service lands and operations
How The Coronavirus Could Hurt Our Ability To Fight Wildfires - Google Podcasts- Interview with Kendra Pierre-Louis, a reporter on the New York Times, many of the concerns raised in this podcast are the ones addressed by the articles above.
We can expect our first responders to do everything they can this year to suppress wildfires, but it’s even more important than normal this year to do what we can to set them up for success. We can assist firefighters by preparing our homes and our families for wildfire and preventing human-caused ignitions.
First responders from every jurisdiction are making plans for how to fight wildfires while keeping firefighters safe this year in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. At the highest level the National Interagency Fire Center has convened three regional Area Command teams to develop plans and direction for fire response, while locally we are already in the beginning of fire season and agencies have made adjustments to their tactics to fight fires.
Listed here are several news articles and resources about how firefighters and agencies are preparing. This is a dynamic issue and we will continue to post relevant articles as they appear.
Descartes Labs Advances Wildfire Detection across New Mexico
New Mexico’s ability to detect and respond to wildfires across the state will be improved through an innovative tool from Descartes Labs. Descartes Labs has built an automated, early-warning wildfire detector using satellite data that will be put to work in New Mexico during the 2020 wildfire season. The wildfire detector will alert the state’s Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department’s Forestry Division of wildfires in real-time.
At a time when first responders are adapting to a fire season with multiple hazards, this improvement in detection provides a powerful tool to respond to and suppress wildfires before they can spread.
We are excited to have the bright minds from Descartes Labs working toward improving our wildfire resilience across the state and look forward to seeing this new tool in action.
Read more about this breakthrough in New Mexico’s wildfire detection system.
