Evacuations Continue In Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire as Santa Fe Offers Support

Evacuations continue as fire grows

The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon blaze had grown to nearly 139,000 acres and stood at 20% containment as of last night’s briefing. The fire’s growing footprint has spurred constantly changing evacuation notices, prompting officials over the weekend to launch an interactive evacuation map, available via QR code, to help residents keep track of changing statuses. San Miguel County Manager Joy Ansley reinforced last night that evacuation decisions were being made “very carefully…they’re not easy decisions. We know this is a horrible time. We know that people are suffering a lot of losses and we know that everybody is scared and not sure where this is going. We’re kind of in the same boat.” While the fire activity yesterday prompted evacuation of the nearly 200 patients at the Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas, fire managers said they had been able to keep the fire out of both Mora and Las Vegas. Las Vegas Police Chief Antonio Salazar reinforced no evacuations had been called for the City of Las Vegas proper, and dispelled what he characterized as rumors that businesses were closed after the Walmart shut temporarily due to employee shortages. “Now is not the time to start creating panic with social media,” Salazar said. “We need to stay positive and we need to stay calm.” Firefighters expect to grapple with more high wind today and throughout the week. Air Resource Advisor John Pendergras also cautioned residents in the vicinity that air quality this morning could be unhealthy to hazardous (Santa Fe also is under an air quality alert). The Cerro Pelado Fire in Jemez Springs, as of last night, stood at 22,314 acres, 10% contained and six miles from Los Alamos National Laboratory, but posing no immediate threat to the Lab, according to the most recent briefing.

Meanwhile, the City of Santa Fe yesterday reported its Emergency Management team and the Santa Fe Fire Department are supporting both firefighting and relief efforts. “We know folks in Santa Fe are concerned for their friends and families who are hit hard by the fires,” Mayor Alan Webber said in a statement. “The City is assisting in every way possible in fighting the fires and safeguarding communities. We’re also making preparations to receive people who may need to relocate. We’ll continue to get information out as the situation develops.” SFR has a roundup of ways to donate here.

PAC files complaint against Gov re-election campaign

A political action committee geared at defeating Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s re-election has filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission against the governor’s campaign. Stop MLG Political Action Committee Director Brett Kokinadis, who filed the complaint, says in a news release the governor’s campaign accepted $22,000 from the Pueblo of Santo Domingo, exceeding state limits. Under state law, gubernatorial candidates are limited to $20,800 per election cycle. According to campaign finance records, the governor received $12,000 from the Santo Domingo Pueblo, spread across two donations, in January of 2021, and then another $10,000 in April of 2022. The Albuquerque Journal reports the governor’s campaign spokeswoman, Kendall Witmer, says the campaign refunded the extra money “and is in compliance with guidance set by the New Mexico Secretary of State.” The complaint is the second Kokinadis has filed against the governor’s campaign.

Jury selection underway in high-profile shooting

A trial expected to be “among the most watched in recent Santa Fe history,” begins Wednesday for 18-year-old Estevan Montoya, who is accused of fatally shooting Santa Fe High School basketball star Fedonta “JB” White at a house party in 2020. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports jury selection is mostly complete following yesterday’s voir dire to evaluate potential jurors’ prior knowledge of the case and/or bias therein. That process reportedly removed 29 potential jurors from approximately 84 considered yesterday, with the remaining set to be considered today. Montoya faces a charge of first-degree murder, along with other counts. Defense attorney Dan Marlowe has argued Montoya, who was 16 at the time, shot White in self-defense after the two had a fight. Last June, District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies told SFR her office would pursue the maximum sentence against Montoya.

COVID-19 by the numbers

Reported May 2:

New cases: 531 (includes the weekend); 522,857 total cases

Deaths: 17; Santa Fe County has had 275 total deaths; there have been 7,516 total fatalities statewide. Hospitalizations: 43; Patients on ventilators: none

Transmission: According to the most recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “community levels” tracking system—which uses case rates along with two hospital metrics in combination to determine the state of the virus on a county level—32 of New Mexico’s counties currently have “green”—aka low—levels, whereas Lea County is set at yellow, or medium, as are three Texas counties on New Mexico’s border. The CDC updates its map on Thursdays.

Resources: Vaccine registration; Booster registration Free at-home rapid antigen tests; Self-report a positive COVID-19 test result to the health department; COVID-19 treatment info: oral treatments Paxlovid (age 12+) and Molnupiravir (age 18+); and monoclonal antibody treatments. Toolkit for immunocompromised individuals. People seeking treatment who do not have a medical provider can call NMDOH’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-855-600-3453.

You can read all of SFR’s COVID-19 coverage here.

Listen up

The climate change podcast Resilient New Mexico returns after a short hiatus, with hosts Sandra West and Peter Heald in conversation with speech language pathologist Genesis Arizmendi, who was trained as a Climate Reality Leader in 2020 through the Climate Reality Project, and served on the City of Albuquerque’s Climate Task Force. Among other topics, Arizmendi talks about environmental pollution’s impact on border communities—particularly for children in those communities.

Bike month begins

May signals the start of Bike Month in Santa Fe, where events and promotions will encourage residents to traverse the city on two wheels. Mid-month—on May 14—the city will be holding Art by Bike!, consisting of a bike loop with protected bike lanes from Frenchy’s Field to Siler; Siler to the River Trail and back with art stops along the way. Throughout the month, numerous local businesses are offering discounts and/or freebies if you bike to their establishments (hello free garlic knots at Back Road Pizza! Hello free small popcorn at Violet Crown!). Don’t have a bike? If you’re 18 years or older, you can borrow one for free from either the Fort Marcy Recreation Complex or the Genoveva Chavez Community Center. The month will also feature social rides, bike swaps, bike clinics and a whole lot more.

Never-ending tourist season

One shouldn’t need an excuse to visit Santa Fe, but that didn’t stop Travel & Leisure magazine from including us in their list of 10 best “mother-daughter getaways in the US” (Mother’s Day is May 8). What do mom/daughter pairs do for a Santa Fe vacay? Same activities as everyone else: Walk around downtown; drink margs on the Margarita Trail; gallery hop on Canyon Road; hit the museums and eat a bowl of chile (T&L recommends The Shed). For those wanting a teensier destination, Taos makes Cosmopolitan magazine’s slideshow of the 30 “small towns in America that are *perfect* for your next getaway,” and recommends a variety of activities (including visiting Taos Pueblo, which one can’t do because it’s closed until further notice because of COVID-19). Last and possibly least, US News & World Report provides the top 18 things to do in New Mexico (why 18? We don’t know). Santa Fe warrants inclusion as a “thing” to do in New Mexico, as do Taos and Roswell (with an emphasis on alien attractions for the latter, as well as a shout-out to Bottomless Lakes State Park). Bandelier National Monument also makes the roundup, but it is also closed until further notice due to the Cerro Pelado Fire.

Air quality alert in effect

The National Weather Service forecasts another red flag warning today with strong winds and low humidity. We also remain under an air quality alert through the morning, with reminders to employ the 5-3-1 method to assess conditions (more resources are also available here). Otherwise, today will be sunny with a high near 78 degrees and “breezy,” with a southeast wind 10 to 15 mph becoming southwest 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph.

Thanks for reading! The Word is digging this tool that lets you search for books set in specific locations (and provides a bunch of other nerdy geography book data).