NM Gov declares state of emergency for ongoing drought, fire risk

By: PATRICK LOHMANN
Courtesy of Source NM

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, pictured during a March news conference, announced Thursday she issued a state of emergency due to ongoing drought in New Mexico. She also called on counties to ban fireworks. (Eddie Moore / Albuquerque Journal)

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is urging counties across the state to ban fireworks and has ordered a task force to come up with short-term emergency measures to address the ongoing drought and mounting wildfire risk, her office announced on Wednesday.

The governor issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency last Thursday, which unlocks funds to help address the drought. It also directed the New Mexico Drought Task Force to meet, which it did Wednesday, to come up with ways to coordinate response efforts across more than 10 state agencies, according to a news release. 

New Mexico is currently experiencing some of the worst drought conditions ever recorded amid long-term predictions that the state could lose 25% of its water supply over the next 50 years. Snowpack, particularly in the southwestern part of the state, is at record lows, and about 87% of the state is experiencing drought conditions.

​Meanwhile, local, state, federal and tribal governments across New Mexico have imposed various levels of wildfire restrictions, citing the ongoing wildfire risk. A New Mexico State Forestry website compilation of those restrictions lists 38 jurisdictions that ban fireworks, campfires or impose other measures.

“Despite some spring precipitation, almost all of New Mexico remains in conditions that threaten water supplies and elevate fire danger,” Lujan Grisham said in a news release. “The State Forester has enacted fire restrictions for high-risk areas, but we can’t stop there. This executive order ensures that we act decisively to conserve water and lessen our exposure to wildfire risk.”

In its Wednesday meeting, the Drought Task Force, led by New Mexico State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson, began coming up with a list of short-term measures to reduce fire risk and help those affected by the drought, which it needs to have in place by July 31, according to the governor’s office. The task force also is tasked with compiling and sharing emergency and other funding sources to help families and governments respond to the drought. 

“New Mexico’s river basins have seen below average precipitation this year, and our reservoir levels are among the lowest on record,” Anderson said in a news release. “These conditions clearly justify emergency action.”

As July 4 approaches, the governor wrote that she urges “New Mexico’s counties, municipalities and local governments to consider implementing firework bans pursuant to the Fireworks Safety and Licensing Act…as well as any other appropriate fire prevention measures that they may legally enact.”