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."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
5 Senate-approved cartoons on the Trump confirmation hearings
Cartoons Artists take on non-answers, drunken rhetoric, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The best new cars for 2025
The Week Recommends From family SUVs to luxury all-electrics these are the most hotly anticipated vehicles
By The Week UK Published
-
Jean-Marie Le Pen: rabble-rousing co-founder of the French National Front
In the Spotlight Once called the 'most hated man in France', Le Pen maintained that his ideas were simply 'ahead of their time'
By The Week UK Published
-
The worst wildfires in California history
The Explainer Total damage from the ongoing fires could be up to $150 billion, according to AccuWeather
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What happens to wildlife during a wildfire?
The explainer Flames also affect the flora and fauna
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Death toll rises in LA fires as wind lull allows progress
Speed Read At least 24 people have died and 100,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden cancels Italy trip as raging LA fires spread
Speed Read The majority of the fires remain 0% contained
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Fast-spreading Los Angeles wildfires spark panic
Speed Read About 30,000 people were under an evacuation order as the inferno spread
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Hundreds feared dead in French Mayotte cyclone
Speed Read Cyclone Chido slammed into Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Thirteen missing after Red Sea tourist boat sinks
Speed Read The vessel sank near the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Global plastics summit starts as COP29 ends
Speed Read Negotiators gathering in South Korea seek an end to the world's plastic pollution crisis, though Trump's election may muddle the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published