Upcoming Meetings, Events, & Projects

9-10 am: Presentation by Lieutenant & Wildland Fire Coordinator on the Sandia Knolls Wildfire Evacuation Route Improvement Project (more info below).

10-11 am: Presentation by Conservation Officer from the NM Department of Wildlife (formerly known as NM Department of Game & Fish). Purpose is to learn how to coexist with wildlife (including bears and coyotes).

11-12 pm: General topics and elections that are required annually. 

Bernalillo County Fire Rescue has received a New Mexico Association of Counties Wildfire Risk Reduction grant, which they intend to use for evacuation route improvement projects, including in the Sandia Knolls. (FLYER & LARGER MAP BELOW)

The purpose of the project is to improve the safety and functionality of the community’s primary evacuation and emergency-access routes by addressing hazardous roadside vegetation, restricted visibility, and access concerns along the identified corridor (larger map below). 

• Hand thinning hazardous vegetation with chainsaws within Bernalillo County setbacks, easements, and public rights-of-way.
• Removing or reducing dense roadside vegetation that could contribute to increased fire intensity or impede evacuation.
• Removing hazardous trees that could fall into the roadway during a wildfire and block or impede evacuation and emergency access.
• Improving sight distance at curves, intersections, and other restricted areas.
• Removing low-hanging limbs and vegetation that may interfere with fire apparatus or evacuating vehicles.
• Improving roadside clearance to support emergency access and the movement of residents during an evacuation.
• Identifying drainage, culvert, shoulder, or roadway concerns that may need to be coordinated separately with Bernalillo County Public Works.

This project will not guarantee that a particular road will always remain usable during a wildfire. Evacuation conditions can change rapidly based on the location and behavior of the fire, weather, smoke, traffic, and emergency operations. However, improving roadside clearance, visibility, emergency access, and route resilience provides an important safety benefit for residents and first responders.

• Bernalillo County Fire Rescue
• Bernalillo County Public Works
• Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District, which will conduct the      vegetation-treatment work
• New Mexico State Forestry
• Community leaders and residents
• A qualified survey company selected through the appropriate County      procurement process

Anticipated schedule is to begin the planning and field-evaluation process as soon as practical, followed by project coordination, survey work, treatment prioritization, and community outreach. 

Hand-thinning and vegetation-treatment work is expected to begin this fall, but this depends on the necessary planning, surveying, and coordinating. 

Tentative goal is to complete the project by May 2027, within the grant performance period. The actual fieldwork schedule may be affected by procurement timelines, weather, seasonal vegetation considerations, survey availability, and issues identified during the site review. 

1.  Conducting  a field review of the tentative project corridor with the participating  agencies.
2. Identifying priority locations along the community’s main evacuation routes based on evacuation needs, roadway restrictions, hazardous vegetation and trees, sight distance, and emergency-vehicle access.
3. Completing the necessary survey work to identify Bernalillo County setbacks,      easements, and public rights-of-way and confirm where treatment can legally occur.
4. Developing a treatment plan and cost estimate that fit within the available grant funding.
5. Sharing project information with the community before work begins.
6. Beginning the approved hand-thinning and vegetation treatment through Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District this fall.
7. Coordinating any related roadway, drainage, culvert, or shoulder concerns with Public Works.
8. Conducting a final review of the completed work. 

Because grant funding is limited, the project will need to prioritize the locations where treatment provides the greatest evacuation and public-safety benefit. The map below should therefore be viewed as the proposed overall project area rather than a guarantee that every portion of every roadway will receive the same level of treatment.

The intent is to focus this work on the main evacuation routes used by the community so the project provides the greatest possible benefit to residents and emergency responders. 

This work will improve roadside clearance, visibility, emergency access, and evacuation conditions while reducing the amount and continuity of hazardous vegetation adjacent to the route.