News and Articles

The storm on 7/23 produced non-stop responses from Santa Fe County from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Santa Fe County would like to thank our staff for their diligent efforts to ensure the safety of residents in Santa Fe County during the 1,000 year rain event.  The Regional Emergency Communication Center (RECC), Public Works, Sheriff’s Department, Santa Fe County Fire Department and Emergency Management Division did an incredible job during on-going hazardous weather conditions.

If you need sandbags you can pick them up (max 25 per person) at any Santa Fe County Regional District Fire Stations:

• Rancho Viejo Fire Station
• Edgewood Fire Station
• Aqua Fria Fire Station
• Hondo Fire Station  

The most important message we can send at this time is please if you do not need to be on the road, stay home.  If you see water turn around, don’t drown! 

Santa Fe County activated the County’s Fire Multi-agency Coordination Center concentrating on Damage Assessments this morning.  There is a great deal of debris throughout the County, on County roads, and culverts.  Crews were out last night and again early this morning clearing and repair dirt roads. 

Five road district managers have been assessing damage and directing crews to the most severely hit areas.  Last night three crews of 2 people were out and today 8 crews have been working to clear high priority areas. The hardest hit area is the La Cienega area, followed by Tesuque.  Some of the other affected communities were La Puebla, Tesuque, La Cienega, Turquois Trail area, Old Las Vegas Highway area, Canada de Los Alamos, La Joya, Glorieta and Ojo de la Vaca The assessments so far indicate that the County did not lose any pavement or structures from our existing roads, however, we did sustain significant damage and flooding in arroyos, rivers and across roads.

It is still too early to know extent of damage and whether it arises to the level of a state or federal FEMA emergency declaration.  

Santa Fe County 7/23:

• 5 Swift Water Rescue Calls
• 11 Flooding, trapped in homes
• 1 Gas Leak
• 10 Road Debris, impassable
• 1 Motor Vehicle Crash
• Numerous welfare checks & public assistance calls
• Supported Activation of Red Cross Shelter at Genoveva Chavez Center

Crews will be on-call in the event of additional rain.  All roads are passable at this time, but we are continuing with debris removal.

Santa Fe County Trails have suffered damage from the recent storms. We ask the public to be patient as Open Space staff assess the damage. Some trails, or parts of trails, may need to be temporarily closed while repairs are made to ensure the safety of trail users. Santa Fe County will be providing updates as soon as all facilities have been assessed.