Governor seeks federal funds to help in firefighting, aid efforts as wildfire rages

May 4—With the evacuation of more than 15,500 households in Northern New Mexico and hundreds of homes likely destroyed by the still spreading Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fire, the governor Tuesday requested a presidential declaration of an emergency in the state.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said at a news conference the declaration would prompt the federal government to send funds to help fight that wildfire and others burning throughout New Mexico and to aid residents who have been affected.

Lujan Grisham said she was confident the state will get that declaration "forthwith."

Officials estimate 277 structures, including at least 166 homes, were destroyed earlier in the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fire. But updated numbers of burned homes have not been made public.

San Miguel County Manager Joy Ansley said the blaze has been too hot for a team to go in and assess further damage since high winds late last week began pushing the fire into new communities. It now stretches between Cleveland and Mora to the northwest and Las Vegas, N.M., to the southeast.

Lujan Grisham also said it remains unclear how many structures have burned. The fire almost certainly will lead to "additional losses of houses," she added in Tuesday's news conference. "One house lost for one New Mexico family is too many."

She said the federal government must be held accountable for the wildfire — a complex blaze of more than 147,000 acres created when two separate fires merged — because it was caused in part by a prescribed burn by U.S. forest officials that spread out of control when unexpected gusts kicked up.

"This is not the first situation where the federal government has put us in harm" in terms of fires, Lujan Grisham said, referring to the 2000 Cerro Grande Fire, which also was caused by a prescribed burn ignited by federal crews. That blaze destroyed 235 homes in Los Alamos.

"This cannot occur again," the governor said of prescribed burns raging out of control.

Milder-than-expected winds Monday enabled crews to make progress in building containment lines to curtail the Calf Canyon and Hermits Peak Fire ahead of fierce winds forecast for the third weekend in a row, with gusts of 50 mph or more.

Combating the wildfire grew more challenging Tuesday as winds increased to as much as

35 mph during the afternoon, with gusts up to 45 mph.

There are now 1,085 personnel involved in fighting the sprawling fire. Crews focused on removing flammable debris and vegetation and building control lines in areas where the fire could threaten structures.

The fire was especially active south of Mora. Strengthening winds later in the day increased the risk of embers blowing into dry areas and igniting spot fires closer to residential areas.

Teams are receiving help from two newly arrived air tankers that are dropping retardant on the flames or on areas near the fire to curb the spread.

One tanker unloaded some retardant on a ridgeline west of Las Vegas as a backup defense in case the winds drive the fire across containment lines, said Todd Abel, an operations section chief for the incident management team at the site. "So, if this does want to make a hard push and actually try to get over our line ... we wanted to be able to make a stand on that retardant line to catch that fire from moving into Las Vegas," Abel said during a Tuesday briefing.

On Wednesday, 25 mph winds are forecast to blow from the west, gusting up to 35 mph, which again will push the fire east toward Las Vegas, according to National Weather Service says. The winds are predicted to let up Thursday and be more in the 20 mph range, helping firefighting efforts.

The U.S. Forest Service has barred public access to the area within the Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District. The agency also has increased fire restrictions within the Santa Fe National Forest.

Meanwhile, the Cerro Pelado Fire, which had burned about 25,000 acres east of Jemez Springs by Tuesday, has destroyed three homes and was still only 10 percent contained.

Personnel on scene swelled to 566 in an effort to keep the fire away from residential areas. Crews worked to improve containment lines along N.M. 4 and to protect structures in the Sierra de los Pinos community and on the northeast side of the fire. Evacuations remain in place for the Cochiti Mesa and Peralta Canyon areas as well as for four homes near Cox Ranch.

Farther north of Las Vegas, crews were getting a handle on the Cooks Peak Fire, which has burned 59,359 acres and is

72 percent contained.

Colfax County's evacuations were lifted, with some affected areas remaining on standby.

The governor said state officials are working to find satisfactory shelters for those who are displaced by the fires. She said shelters have been set up in Las Vegas, Peñasco and Taos.

The state is planning another shelter in Santa Rosa, one that also will provide medical resources, accommodate seniors and offer more privacy, she said.

She said she is aware there are families caught up in fire zones "who don't know what the next day will be like. This must feel to them like they are out there on their own."

But, Lujan Grisham said, they are not. Still, she said it's clear many people may be forced to seek refuge with friends or family members far "away from their home community. ... It's hard on them."

Lujan Grisham said the public can help by respecting bans on fireworks and open fires. "I need people to be extremely cautious," she said. "I need folks to be clear about the risks."

Brig. Gen. Miguel Aguilar of the New Mexico National Guard said during the news conference there are 111 Guard members working in support roles at fire sites, delivering food and water and participating in water drops on the Cerro Pelado Fire, among other duties.

U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, who represents Northern New Mexico, said a presidential declaration of emergency requires a certain threshold of damage, which the Federal Emergency Management Agency determines in the aftermath. But she said she was assured by the White House bureaucracy wouldn't stand in the way. "They have already put FEMA people on the ground to help start calculating that damage, start calculating those assessments so that we can hit that threshold, and we can send it in to the president," Leger Fernández said.

Once President Joe Biden signs the emergency declaration, it will unleash additional resources, she said.

"What we were told today is that the president wants the full force of the federal resources available to New Mexico," Leger Fernández said. "Right now, the fires in New Mexico are the number one priority of the federal government in terms of putting resources in here."

Reporter Daniel J. Chacón contributed to this story.