Photo by Lydia Haley Crandall
FGGAM News just received this news release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JIC Release #2
June 20, 2016
CONTACT
JIC: Karen Takai
Department of Health: David Morgan
Environment Department: Allison Scott Majure
Smoke from Wildfires Expected to Ease
Estancia, NM – The New Mexico Department of Health and the New Mexico Environment Department expect smoke from the Dog Head Fire and North Fire to begin stabilizing over the next 24 hours. However, fire activity can change quickly and your eyes are the best tools to determine if it is safe to be outside.
Even if the smell of smoke is apparent, the air quality may still be good. As a rule of thumb, if visibility is over five miles, the air quality is generally good. However, no matter how far one can see, if individuals are having health effects from smoke exposure, they are advised to take extra care to stay inside or get to an area with better air quality and to see a doctor or healthcare professional as needed. When the visibility starts to go below 3 miles, sensitive groups should avoid outdoor activities until air quality improves.
The New Mexico Environment Department operates air quality monitors at multiple locations around the state. The monitors gather information about air quality conditions and help to keep the public informed. Data from the Environment Department air monitors can be found at https://drdasnm1.alink.com/. Monitoring data for U.S. Forest Service monitors can be found athttps://app.airsis.com/USFS/ and at https://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/smoke.pl.
Fire risk across New Mexico remains high. You can take the following steps to protect your home before a wildfire starts:
- Make your landscape firewise by keeping anything that is flammable at least 5 feet away from your house. This includes:
o your trash, recycling bins or piles
o firewood
o yard furniture
o grills
o landscape items such as shrubs, bushes, trees, and plants.
- Sweep gutters, roofs, and leaves regularly.
- Remove dead branches from trees near your house and take trimmings and dead branches away from your yard.
For more information about protecting property and saving lives from wildfire, visit firewise.org. For information about the health impacts of wildfires, please visit www.nmtracking.org/fire. For more information about fires in New Mexico, visit: https://nmfireinfo.com/. Information on fires in Arizona and throughout the U.S. is available at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/.
WIC Services Resume in Torrance County
Estancia, NM – The New Mexico Department of Health announced today that Women Infants and Children (WIC) services will resume Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at the Moriarty Public Health Office at 1110 Route 66 in Moriarty, New Mexico.
Services were unavailable Friday, June 17 and Monday, June 20 due to the Dog Head Fire.
WIC is the federal program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service, and the New Mexico Department of Health, Public Health Division that provides nutrition education, healthy foods, breastfeeding support and health care referrals.
For more information about the New Mexico WIC program, visit www.nmwic.org.
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Matt Kennicott
Director of Communications | NM Department of Transportation | Office of the Secretary
