state of emergency
As 20 wildfires burn in the state, New Mexico governor wants to ban the sale of fireworks
About 1,000 firefighters are battling 20 wildfires in New Mexico, with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) announcing on Sunday that at least 200 structures have burned down and 900 more remain threatened.
Lujan Grisham has declared a state of emergency in five counties, and told reporters she has also requested additional resources from the White House. "We need more federal bodies for firefighting, fire mitigation, public safety support on the ground in New Mexico," she said.
This will be "a tough summer," Lujan Grisham added, and that's why campfires are banned and on Monday she will "be asking every local government to be thinking about ways to ban the sales of fireworks."
The wildfires are burning in more than half of the state's 33 counties, and on Saturday, a fire in northern New Mexico that started April 6 merged with a newer fire to form a blaze covering 66 square miles. Evacuation orders are in place in several counties, including San Miguel and Mora.