ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – New Mexico has made national headlines for deploying the National Guard to help fight crime in Albuquerque. The controversial deployment has activists speaking out against the operation.
Some worry that it will take critical dollars away from future emergencies, like wildfire management. “It was very, very dry this winter, as everyone knows. The governor just last week issued an executive order on drought,” says New Mexico State Forrester Laura McCarthy.
Forrester McCarthy warns that New Mexico is in the most dangerous part of the fire season. “So fire spread is typically more extreme when you have daytime highs in the 95s and above. We’re headed toward that,” McCarthy says.
Even with the risk for massive fires being higher than ever, McCarthy isn’t concerned that $2.25 million to pay for operation Zia Shield will have an impact on emergency response, which is something people against the deployment have raised concerns about. “I have never seen us run out of money. So I don’t see that there is competition between the use of the National Guard,” continued McCarthy.
The state has an emergency contingency fund and a backup operational reserve fund to draw from when an emergency strikes. “Historically, there hasn’t been a year in an emergency. We’ve lived through COVID, Hermits Peak, Calf Canyon, you know, Ruidoso, followed by the Roswell flood, followed by snowstorms. And we haven’t exhausted those funds,” said Adjutant General of the New Mexico National Guard Maj. Gen. Miguel Aguilar.
Maj. Gen. Aguilar says in previous wildfire emergencies like Ruidoso, which required between 100-200 million to control, they had the necessary funding to tackle it. “We’ll continue to have conversations with, you know, from the executive side of the legislature and the legislative finance committee to ensure that New Mexico is postured as best we can, you know, to fill in whatever gaps we need,” continued Aguilar.
Operation Zia Shield will deploy 77 guardsmen in the coming days. The operation is expected to last for at least six months.
