Resident & Community Member Resources

The fire season is now a year-round reality in many areas, requiring firefighters and residents to be on heightened alert for the threat of wildland fire throughout the year. Each year, wildland fires consume hundreds of homes in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). Studies show that as many as 80 percent of the homes lost to wildland fires could have been saved if their owners had followed a few simple firesafe practices.

Your fire department takes every precaution to help protect you and your property from wildland fire. However, in a major wildland fire, there are simply not enough fire engines or firefighters to defend every home. Successfully preparing for a wildland fire requires you to take personal responsibility for protecting yourself, your family and your property. Use the resources on this page to help you prepare.

Jump to:

• General Fire Information

• Alerts

• Defensible Space & Home Preparation

• Home Hazard Assessment Guide

• Emergency Planning

• Smoke

• InciWeb - active wildfires across the US

• NM Fire Info - timely, accurate, fire and restriction information for the state of New Mexico

• National Interagency Fire Center - data and statistics on fire occurance

• National Fire Protection Association - guidance on reducing wildfire risk to homes

• Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network - resources about community wildfire adaptation

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.

Wildfire and Prescribed Fire 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.  

New Mexico wide:

• NM State Forestry Wildfire Alert email (only for state or private land, not federal)

• NM Fire Information (click on the + at the bottom of the page to add your email)

This guide provides homeowners with tools to assess your home's wildfire risk and prioritizes actions you can take to reduce that risk. The assessment worksheet included with this guide is intended to help you understand your risk and where vulnerabilities on your property may lie. Every home is different in terms of wildfire risk and hazards. The goal for this worksheet is not to get a hazard rating of zero, but simply to address certain vulnerabilities that present a wildfire risk to your home. Where you choose to reduce risk on your property is specific to your property's unique features. Start by inquiring with your local fire department about wildfire risk in your area. Your community may have a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) which will provide you with a CWPP ranking and recommendations for reducing risk in your community.

Use the Home Hazard Assessment Guide and the Home Hazard Assessment Worksheet (to be used with guide) to analyze your risks and develop a plan for action.

Developed in partnership between the Wildfire Network and the Forest Stewards Guild

• Ready, Set, Go! Your Personal Wildfire Action Plan (En Español: En Sus Marcas, Listos, Fuera!)

• Fire Prevention Booklet (City of Santa Fe)

• Emergency Planning Tips

• Un plan de acción contra incendios forestales

• Wildfire Preparedness for Household Pets (National Fire Protection Association)

Ready, Set, Go! Santa Fe & Go-Kits

In the webinar recording below, Remington Gillum, the Wildland Specialist at Santa Fe County will present the Ready, Set, Go Program, an all-inclusive program to prepare you and your family for wildfire. Starting at the 20 minute mark, Ann Church of Villages of Santa Fe will then show you how to construct a go kit, an evacuation bag that contains a supply of items you would need to safely evacuate your home.

Smoke from wildfires and prescribed fires is a serious concern as it can cause or exacerbate health conditions for individuals in our community. Living in the fire-adapted ecosystems of northern New Mexico we must accept that wildfires and smoke are inevitable but there are precautions we can take to minimize the impact of smoke on our health.

General Smoke Information:

• New Mexico Fire Info, Smoke Management - New Mexico Fire Information - an interagency effort by federal and state agencies in New Mexico

• Air Now, Interactive Map of Smoke Monitors & Fire Current Conditions - Environmental Protection Agency

• Protect Your Health on Smoky Days - from New Mexico Environmental Public Health

•  New Mexico’s Smoke Management Program - New Mexico Environment Department’s Air Quality Bureau

• NOAA Smoke Forecast Tool - Maps of surface and vertical smoke can be found under “Additional Air Quality Forecast Guidance.”

Filter and Air Cleaner Information:

• What to Know Before Buying an Air Purifier to Clear Wildfire Smoke, by Kristin Wong, The New York Times

• The Best Air Purifier: Reviews - by the Wirecutter

• Wildfire Smoke and Face Masks (Humo de incendios forestales y mascarillas) - Washington State Department of Health

• Air Cleaning Devices for the Home FAQ - California Environmental Protection Agency

• Build a do-it-yourself air purifier for about $25 - University of Michigan

• Setting up a Clean Air Room- CDC

Check out our HEPA filter loan program which provides filters to smoke sensitive individuals during period of smoke impacts in some areas of Northern New Mexico.

If you have a question or concern that was not addressed on this page, please visit our forum where you can ask a question or share thoughts with other FACNM community members