Members of the Pecos River Crew, a wildfire crew, pose in front of The Optic building on Tuesday. From left: Francisco Medina and Magnus Rowan, both senior firefighters with the Pecos River Crew; George Gallardo, Pecos River Crew assistant superintendent; and Chris K. Moore, Pecos River Crew superintendent.
A state-led initiative is aiming to create at least two new Hotshot crews to help fight wildfires in New Mexico and throughout the country.
This is the state of New Mexico’s first attempt at creating its own Hotshot crews, which are highly trained wildfire crews that take on the most hazardous and dangerous tasks in firefighting.
The effort comes after the devastating wildfires of 2022, including the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire. State lawmakers, including Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, authorized $1.3 million for the State Forestry Division to create the two Hotshot crews.
To this end, the state has created two new wildfire crews with the goal of turning them into Hotshot crews. There is the Mimbres Wildfire Crew, which is based in Socorro; and the Pecos River Crew, which is based in Las Vegas. Both began operating back in May.
These crews were strategically placed, said Chris K. Moore, Pecos River Crew superintendent, so that both northern and southern New Mexico each have a wildfire crew.
The goal is to grow in numbers and ability so that they may eventually be Interagency Hotshot Crews.
“Currently, we’re a hand crew striving towards (becoming an) Interagency Hotshot Crew, which is a national standard,” Moore explained.
There are nine firefighters with the Pecos River Crew, Moore said, and the goal is to grow the crew to have 18-20 firefighters who are “mentally strong and physically fit.”
George Gallardo, assistant superintendent of the Pecos River Crew, stressed the importance of the high-level of strength and commitment wildfire crew members must have.
“We are trying to build something with people that have experience, people that have knowledge, people that have qualifications and that (have a) background in fire,” Gallardo said. “We’re not just pulling people off the streets (and) throwing them to the wolves to get them qualified. We are bringing in people that meet those requirements that we’re trying to put into motion, as far as the standard goes.”
Moore said it is difficult to say when the Pecos River Crew will be a Hotshot crew, stating it can take 3-5 years. Magnus Rowan, a senior firefighter with the Pecos River Crew, noted that there are a variety of factors that go into the timeline towards becoming a Hotshots crew.
“(It depends) on hiring and the people we bring in, if they already have the set qualifications, it can shorten the time frame,” Rowan said.
For more information on how to apply to be part of the Pecos River Crew and potentially a Hotshot, visit careers.share.nm.gov and search for “Pecos River.”