Protecting your homes and families during fire season was the central focus of a Saturday morning event hosted by Santa Fe County last month.
Dozens of area residents came armed with questions to the county’s inaugural Wildfire Mitigation Community Education Day.
As the meeting was wrapping up at the County Fairgrounds, officials and emergency responders talked with KSFR about a range of fireseason issues.
Battalion Chief of Special Operations for the Santa Fe County Fire Department, Sal Caputo, described his colleagues’ current mindset and preparations.
"In this state, I think everyone's always nervous going into fire season. because historically we're always dry. There's always some sort of drought we're going in and out of," Caputo said.
"So I think traditionally it's just there's nerves out there with the current conditions. But if anything, they're out there and they're preparing and they're training and they're working that much harder just to make it so that they know they're ready to go if, hopefully just if, something happens.
The phrase “ember cast” comes up often when you talk to County Fire wildland captain Mike Feulner.
That’s when vegetation such as tumbleweeds, after getting ignited by wildfire floats long distance, carrying sparks to structures as far as a mile from the original source.
Fuelner said it was a big reason for the destruction earlier this year of the Altadena neighborhood in Los Angeles.
The key for homeowners, Feulner said, is to remove as much vegetative fuel near your home as possible, from just below windows to property lines.
Santa Fe County public information officer Olivia Romo says the county is doing its part to get people prepared
"We are going to be investing in providing green waste disposal days and opportunities. To empower our residents to get their properties prepared, and to continue to provide these spaces and information so people can know where to go, how to get their evacuation zones, how to sign up for emergency alerts," Romo said.
"We want to continue to uplift and empower our residents as we go through another pretty dangerous wildfire season."
The county’s Smart 9-1-1 and emergency alerts system that Romo just referred to gives residents the advantage of opting in and providing emergency responders with information in advance about who lives in a home and what their medical conditions are.
With Good Friday approaching, Ignacio Dominguez, administrative services manager for the County fire department, said that the annual Easter Pilgrimage to Chimayo, is another moment when he and his colleagues are on high alert.
"They're walking through a lot of just less developed areas where there is more wildfire fuel. And so it is a potential danger for us that we do think about and is we are mindful that we're bringing this many people into a more rural area. We wanna make sure we're taking care of them and that they are safe.
You can delve deeper into wildfire mitigation at santafecountynm.gov.