Corrales Works to Protect Community from Fires

Published January 13th, 2025 at 12:27 pm

In his Jan. 10 Mayor’s Message, Corrales Mayor Jim Fahey discussed the wildfires in California and the work the village is doing on its fire suppression line.

The Los Angeles wildfires have burned thousands of acres, destroyed over 12,000 homes, businesses, schools and other structures, forced over 100,000 people to evacuate and killed at least 24 people since igniting Jan. 7.

“The Pacific Palisades fire in California sparked earlier this week, spreading quickly due to strong winds in the area. There has already been loss of life and many structures,” Fahey said. “We have been lucky that the village has not experienced a fire that has gone out of control in this manner.”

The village has implemented several policies over the last few years to protect homes and businesses from fires.

Fahey said Fire Chief Anthony Martinez has been working on installing a fire suppression line in the Village for the last several years. The village also requires all businesses to receive a fire inspection before receiving their business license from the Clerk’s office. Village code enforcement officers must also alert homeowners when there is a fire hazard on their property.

You can find things you can do to protect your home and our community on the village website’s fire department page at www.corrales-nm.org/fire/page/wildfire-safety-and-preparation. 

“Everyone in the Village should have a plan for emergencies such as a fire, and that plan should include what you will do with your animals,” Fahey said. 

Tips for evacuating your animals in an emergency can be found on the village website’s animal control page at  www.corrales-nm.org/animalcontrol/page/animal-evacuation-plan. 

Fahey also recommends signing up for CODE RED alerts. The Code Red system is designed to contact you in an emergency and give instructions on what to do in that situation. You can sign up at  www.corrales-nm.org/fire/page/code-red. 

The Village Administration has again made fire suppression a top priority in its requests for funding from the state legislature. This year’s requests include a $1.885 million request directly to Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham to fund the construction of a fire line that will connect a new water tower to be built at the top of Angel Road to the existing line on Loma Larga. The 60-day session begins on January 21.