Planning is Important

You may not have to start planning the recovery process from scratch. A growing number of New Mexico communities have adopted an all-hazard mitigation plan that addresses wildfire response. If your county, tribe, pueblo or municipality already has a plan, many of the tasks on the next few pages will have been done for you. If your community doesn't have a plan in place, this guide will help you identify steps to take.

If you are reading this before a wildfire has occurred, the most important thing you can do is  plan ahead. 

Does my Community Have a Plan?

To see the status of your community's Hazard Mitigation Plan, check the 'Mitigation' page from the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. For links to existing New Mexico Community Wildfire Protection Plans from State Forestry, which may be useful in a post-wildfire situation, click here. You may also try an online search for a plan for your community; for example, Angel Fire has a wildfire plan here that does not appear on the other sites mentioned.

Key Items for Planning

In addition to resources such as a Hazard Mitigation Plan, keep these key points in mind:

• Document your community or home through photographs in case you need to use images after a wildfire for financial purposes.
• If a wildfire happened, who would I need at the table to help with the recovery process? Think about social recovery as well to provide for items such as food, medication, supplies and support such as counseling.
• How will your community come up with match for grant funding? Planning ahead for finances and for volunteers, etc. can assist your community in recovery.
• If a wildfire occurs, how do we address the threat of post-wildfire flooding? Often fires in New Mexico and in the southwest are followed by monsoon rains; what can we do to protect our water supply and communities?