Santa Fe County to hold wildfire mitigation and preparedness event
SANTA FE COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – After having a dry winter, Santa Fe County said it's preparing for another high-risk fire season. While the government gets ready, they're encouraging the public to take their own steps to protect their homes.
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'Ultimately, they're the first line. They're going to be the ones where that fire first breaks out. We want to make sure that they're safe,' said Administrative Services Manager for the Santa Fe County Fire Dept. Ignacio Dominguez.
Santa Fe County wants to get the community prepared in the event of a wildfire. The county said, compared to years past, it got little snow this winter making this a high-risk fire season. 'The increased fuel loads that we've been compiling since years past with the wetter summers we've had, we've got a lot of dry vegetation,' said Battalion Chief of Special Operations with the Santa Fe County Fire Dept. Salvatore Caputo.
With recent summers having devastating fires like the South Fork and Salt Fires in Ruidoso last year, Santa Fe County wants to push community members to get involved. On March 29, from 9:00 a.m. to noon, the county will host its inaugural Wildfire Mitigation and Preparedness Community Education Day at the Santa Fe County Fair Grounds. 'We want to make sure that individuals have all the information they need to help protect them,' said Dominquez.
Their goal with the event: educate homeowners so they have the best chance at saving their property and belongings that matter to them the most. 'This is your one-stop shop event. We are encouraging families and residents to come together and visit with staff and experts,' said Public Information Officer for Santa Fe County Olivia Romo.
At the event, the county said attendees will learn about firescaping and added that they can schedule an assessment of their home with the Wildland Division.
'Our wildland team does accept appointments to come out and talk to individual property owners and they provide what they call a prescription of, 'Hey these are things you can do in order to meet these requirements to set up your home for success,'' said Caputo.
Community members will be able to make sure they are signed up for emergency alert notifications through the county while also learning more about creating a plan in the event of an evacuation. The county hopes to make it a yearly event. 'We want people to understand we are part of this community and we're here to help, but we also want to empower people to take care of themselves,' said Dominguez.
The county said the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance will also be at the event so the community can ask about homeowners insurance for fire damage.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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