NM wildfire dispatch centers no longer face threat of closure, Heinrich says

Yahoo

4 days ago

An employee of the Albuquerque Interagency Dispatch Center stands at her desk to monitor wildfire starts, pictured May 2022. The dispatch centers in Albuquerque and Silver City are no longer at risk of closing amid DOGE's cost-cutting efforts, according to U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) (Photo courtesy Cibola National Forest)
Two federal offices housing wildfire dispatch centers that coordinate the detection of and response to wildfires for much of New Mexico no longer face risk of lease cancellations, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) said Tuesday.
In early March, Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency listed two national forest supervisor's offices in Albuquerque and Silver City among several hundred announced lease closures aimed at cutting federal spending.
The offices also housed interagency wildfire dispatch centers, which house equipment and personnel crucial to ensuring that small wildfire starts are quickly noticed and extinguished before they become larger.
A Source NM review of the online DOGE list of lease terminations showed that neither of the two offices remain on the list; nor do any other Forest Service offices nationwide. They appear to have been removed in the last week.
Albuquerque center housing 'critical' wildfire dispatch on DOGE termination list as fire risk grows
Heinrich questioned Agriculture Department Secretary Brooke Rollins about the centers recently during her testimony before a Senate committee. He confirmed Tuesday in a statement to Source New Mexico that the dispatch centers would remain open.
'I'm proud to announce that the Interagency Dispatch Centers in Albuquerque and Silver City will be staying open,' he said. 'These centers are essential to help protect New Mexicans during wildfires, floods, and other emergencies. That's why I called Secretary Rollins as soon as I heard that DOGE was planning to close them. Today, we put an end to DOGE's reckless efforts.'
About 500 offices remain on the DOGE list, down from roughly 750 in early March, according to a Source NM review. Many, but not all, Agriculture Department offices have been removed from the list.
The dispatch centers monitor most of Central and Southwest New Mexico, a 45,000-square-mile area, and coordinate the deployment of people, vehicles and aircraft to suppress wildfires as quickly as possible.
Already this year, the dispatch center in Albuquerque has responded to 172 wildfires in its coverage area, and the one in Silver City has responded to 64, according to dispatch center data.
The threatened closure of the Silver City Dispatch Center, in particular, alarmed some in the area because it was unclear where another dispatch center could go in the rural area. The dispatch center, which oversees the Gila National Forest, is in the epicenter of where national forecasters warn wildfire risk is highest this season.
A spokesperson for the General Services Administration, which manages federal leases, referred comment to the Agriculture Department. Spokespeople for the national forests where the offices are housed did not respond to Source's request for comment Tuesday.
The removals occur as Musk departs the White House.
'It's bad': How drought, lack of snowpack and federal cuts could spell wildfire disaster in NM
Heinrich's statement did not provide more details on why most other Forest Service offices nationwide no longer appear on the DOGE list, but he noted how important the ones in New Mexico are to preventing disasters.
'The Interagency Dispatch Centers help get resources – like airtankers from Kirtland Air Force Base—to where they're needed, and fast. As fire seasons get longer and more dangerous, and post-fire floods continue to threaten our communities, I'll keep fighting to make sure our firefighters and emergency crews have the tools they need to keep our communities safe,' he said.
The DOGE list said ending the two New Mexico leases would save taxpayers about $1 million a year.