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After sending help for California fires, New Mexico won't be left short-handed, officials say

By Sue Vorenberg
Thursday, October 25, 2007

N.M. in California

• 42 firefighters

• 33 Disaster Medical Assistance Team members

• Several Red Cross-trained volunteers, who are still being called up by the agency.

Sources: State Office of Homeland Security, University of New Mexico, New Mexico Red Cross

To donate

To help victims of the California wildfires, send money - not items - to:

American Red Cross

142 Monroe St. N.E.

Albuquerque, NM 87108

You can also donate at Red Cross, or call 265-8514.

Source: American Red Cross

Although dozens of New Mexico firefighters and medical workers have left to help fight wildfires in southern California, the state has plenty of assets in reserve if fire breaks out here, officials said.

The more than 40 firefighters and 30-plus medical workers who left for California on Wednesday morning are only a small portion of the total resources available to the state, said Dan Ware, a spokesman for the state Forestry Division.

"We're still in good shape across the state," Ware said. "If we had something occur, the resources are there."

The Red Cross also plans to send trained volunteers from New Mexico, but an exact number isn't yet available. Nationally, the agency is calling up 2,000 volunteers to help in California, said Cindy Adams, a regional CEO.

Even if a large fire sparked in New Mexico, the state can call upon regional help, including firefighters from nearby cities and towns, Ware said.

"We're not going to leave the state unprotected," Ware said. "But we still need people to be cautious with things like campfires or cigarettes, no matter what time of year it is. We could have a fire at any time in any part of the state."

Weather in New Mexico looks to continue to be warm and dry with very little wind for at least 10 days, said Dan Porter, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.

"The warm conditions and the dry weather are good for fire, but the low winds aren't good for spreading fire," Porter said. "That means its a good time for controlled burns, and there are a lot of them going on right now."

As the burns continue, Albuquerque could remain smoky for several days, said Chuck Maxwell, a fire meteorologist at the Southwest Coordination Center.

"We're seeing our fuels transitioning to dormant from north to south across the state," Maxwell said of the drying vegetation. "It's prime prescribed-fire time. You should not be surprised to see smoke in the air any morning this week in the Southwest."

Still, dealing with smoke now is better than the alternative - the threat of massive fires during the state's typical fire season in late spring and early summer, Ware said.

"They're basically taking care of the fuel loads now so that in our normal fire season those areas don't become super-fires," Ware said.