Making a plan: Officials from around the state meet at Pueblo of Isleta to discuss emergency response after fire

Aug. 23—It burned for approximately 22 hours.

Resin material, diesel fuel, fuel oil and propane could have been among the materials burned at Atkore United Poly Systems in the Aug. 7 fire, according to information provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the Pueblo of Isleta.

"Nobody wants to see another fire of that type again," said Ramona Montoya, environmental division manager at the Pueblo of Isleta about the Atkore United Poly Systems plastics fire from early August.

Officials are working to improve the emergency response if another crisis, like the early August fire, occurs. On Monday morning, city of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, state and tribal officials met to discuss how to enhance communication between government agencies in times of emergency.

Pueblo of Isleta Gov. Max Zuni invited several officials to the meeting earlier in the month. Isleta Pueblo is just south of the blaze site.

"(The) meeting was a strong start to an open and transparent conversation about the industrial development and environmental safeguards in place at Mesa del Sol," Zuni said in a news release following the meeting. "The Pueblo of Isleta looks forward to ongoing consultation with surrounding jurisdictions to provide input in the industry moving into Mesa del Sol."

Montoya said the Pueblo is awaiting Atkore's 21-Day Corrective Action Plan, which the company is required to submit to the state, as well as a report from the city of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department, which department director Angel Martinez said will analyze pollutant-specific data across several days.

Finding out what chemicals were burned and how they might affect local plants, wildlife and people is a top priority, Montoya said.

Martinez, who was in attendance at the Monday meeting, said the department constantly monitors air quality. Although there were some spikes in certain pollutants following the fire, Martinez said, weather conditions were actually ideal to push the cloud out of populated areas.

"We were actually very, very fortunate," Martinez said.

Martinez said the city reaffirmed its commitment to communicate with the Pueblo during crises.

"We made agreements to continue to collaborate and make sure they get directly notified like any other government," Martinez said.

Terry Sloan, intergovernmental tribal liaison for the city of Albuquerque, said the fire was an eye-opener that revealed some "missing pieces" in emergency response. Sloan attended the Monday meeting.

"We're strategizing on a plan to be better prepared," Sloan said, and mentioned measures like increasing road access to Mesa del Sol, improving infrastructure like new fire walls and meeting the Pueblo of Isleta's environmental standards — which Sloan says are higher than that of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — during emergencies.

Sloan also said it would be important to make sure that new industry coming into Mesa del Sol is meeting safety standards.

A meeting between Zuni and Mayor Tim Keller is planned for the near future