Category Archives: New Mexico

Ancient sculptures found in storage box finally returned to Mexico

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Consulate accepts a dozen small artworks amid worldwide movement to repatriate Indigenous items

Small, ancient sculptures that have been gathering dust in an Albuquerque storage box are returning home to Mexico, where they are intertwined with the identity of Indigenous communities.

The Albuquerque Museum Foundation celebrated the repatriation of a dozen sculptures in a ceremony on Wednesday. The local consulate of Mexico accepted Olmec greenstone sculptures, a figure from the city of Zacatecas, bowls that were buried with tombs and other clay figurines that date back thousands of years.

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Man with methamphetamine in system was driving truck that killed US college golf team

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NTSB report corrects initial statement that son, 13, was driving truck that hit van, leaving six golfers and their coach dead

Seven members of a New Mexico college golf team were killed when a pickup truck driver with methamphetamine in his bloodstream hit their van head-on in Texas earlier this year, a preliminary report from federal investigators revealed on Thursday.

The report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) also corrected its initial statement that the driver’s 13-year-old son was driving the truck at the time of the fiery 15 March collision that left a total of nine people dead.

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US Forest Service admits ‘multiple miscalculations’ caused New Mexico fire

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In an 80-page review, the agency states missteps by its employees in setting prescribed burns led to explosive wildfire

Employees with the US Forest Service made multiple miscalculations, used inaccurate models and underestimated how dry conditions were in the south-west, causing a planned burn to reduce the threat of wildfires to explode into the largest blaze in New Mexico’s recorded history, the agency said on Tuesday.

The agency quietly posted an 80-page review that details the planning missteps and the conditions on the ground as crews ignited the prescribed fire in early April. The report states officials who planned the operation underestimated the amount of timber and vegetation that was available to fuel the flames, the exceptional dry conditions and the rural villages and water supplies that would be threatened if things went awry.

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Biden faces anger over huge New Mexico wildfire sparked by federal burns

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President visits state beset by Hermits Peak Calif Canyon fire, result of two accidental fires that merged

Joe Biden landed in New Mexico on Saturday amid anger and frustration from wildfire survivors as he visited the state to review efforts to fight its biggest blaze in recorded history – which was started by federal officials.

Driven by drought and wind, the fire has destroyed hundreds of homes in mountains north-east of Santa Fe since two controlled burns by the US Forest Service went out of control in April.

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Critical fire condition warnings issued across US south-west

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Predicted wind gusts could cause fire to jump containment lines as crews in New Mexico try to stop growth of US’s biggest wildfire

Warnings of critical fire conditions are peppered across much of the US south-west this weekend, as crews in northern New Mexico worked to stop the growth of the nation’s largest active wildfire.

Two fires that merged to create the largest wildfire in New Mexico history have both been traced to planned burns set by federal forest managers as preventative measures, federal investigators have announced.

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5,000 firefighters tackle wildfires across US south-west

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High winds have hampered operations as crews fight blazes in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico

More than 5,000 firefighters have battled multiple wildland blazes in dry, windy weather across the south-west, including a fire that has destroyed dozens of structures in west Texas and another picking up steam again in New Mexico.

Evacuation orders remained in place on Thursday for residents near the wildfires in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico. High winds prevented officials from sending aircraft to drop retardant or water in many places.

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‘Everything was orange’: US wildfires burning at furious pace early this year

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Wind-driven flames tearing through dry vegetation exacerbated by the climate crisis in California and New Mexico

Extreme conditions have fueled an explosive start to what’s expected to be yet another intense season of big blazes, with months to go before wildfire threats typically peak across the west.

Wildfires have charred close to 1.3m acres nationwide this year, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), outpacing the 10-year average for this time of year by more than 71%. Predictions for the rest of the spring do not bode well for the west, with the drought and warmer weather brought on by the climate crisis worsening wildfire danger.

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New Mexico wildfire rampages on as fresh blaze engulfs California mansions

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Challenging weather hampers firefighting in New Mexico, while in California, wealthy coastal enclave goes up in flames

Extreme fire conditions are continuing to fuel a massive wildfire in northern New Mexico, making it difficult for crews to contain the largest blaze in the US, which grew to nearly 260,000 acres acres on Thursday.

The continued destruction came as a smaller fire broke out in California, destroying more than 20 homes, many of them multimillion-dollar mansions, in the coastal community of Laguna Niguel.

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New Mexico wildfire spreading north toward mountain resort towns near Taos

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Two more days of high winds and very dry conditions expected as fire warnings issued across much of the western US

Many houses near America’s largest wildfire survived the latest barrage of howling winds and erratic flames but New Mexico’s governor said on Tuesday the risk of more destruction is high and that the long-term costs of recovering from the huge blaze will soar.

Two more days of strong winds and dangerously bone-dry conditions are in the forecast before some relief is expected on Friday.

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Potentially historic winds forecast as firefighters battle New Mexico wildfire

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Planes and helicopters used as hundreds work feverishly to contain largest fire burning in US


Extreme wind conditions described as potentially historic were forecast for New Mexico on Saturday and for the next several days as hundreds of firefighters and a fleet of airplanes and helicopters worked feverishly to bolster lines around the largest fire burning in the US.

Many families already have been left homeless and thousands of residents have evacuated due to flames that have charred large swaths of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in north-eastern New Mexico.

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How the oil and gas industry is trying to hold US public schools hostage

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Fossil fuel interest groups are telling New Mexicans: let us keep drilling or the state’s education system will collapse

The oil and gas industry wants to play a word-and-picture association game with you. Think of four images: a brightly-colored backpack stuffed with pencils, a smiling teacher with a tablet tucked under her arm, a pair of glasses resting on a stack of pastel notebooks, and a gleaming school bus welcoming a young student aboard.

“What do all of these have in common?” an April 6 Facebook post by the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA), asked. “They are powered by oil and natural gas!”

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More than 1,000 firefighters battle 150 square mile wildfire in New Mexico

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Strong winds pushed blaze across containment lines, threatening the small town of Las Vegas

More than 1,000 firefighters backed by bulldozers and aircraft battled the largest active wildfire in the US on Saturday after strong winds pushed it across some containment lines and closer to a town in northern New Mexico.

Preliminary overnight mapping imagery indicated that the fire that has burned at least 166 homes grew in size from 103 square miles on Friday to 152 square miles by early Saturday, officials said.

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Thousands forced to flee as wildfires sweep through New Mexico

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Five counties under state of emergency as high winds fan ferocious flames across US south-west

Wind-driven wildfires destroyed hundreds of structures in northern New Mexico and forced thousands to flee mountain villages as blazes burned unusually early in the year in the parched US south-west.

Two wildfires merged north-west of Las Vegas, New Mexico, and raced through 15 miles (24km) of forest driven by winds over 75mph (121km/h), destroying more than 200 buildings, state authorities said.

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Rust fined maximum amount by New Mexico for failures that led to gun death

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State officials deliver highest level of rebuke and say production demonstrated ‘plain indifference’ to employee safety

The state of New Mexico on Wednesday issued its maximum citation against the producers of the western movie Rust for safety lapses before what the authorities called the “avoidable” shooting death of the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming last autumn.

An investigation into Hutchins’ death found the company, Rust Movie Productions, knew firearm safety procedures were not being followed on set and demonstrated “plain indifference” to employee safety, the New Mexico environment department said in a statement.

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Alec Baldwin hands over phone in film shooting investigation

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Actor’s phone is turned over to authorities investigating fatal shooting on New Mexico film set in October

Alec Baldwin has handed over his cellphone to investigators who are looking into the fatal shooting on the New Mexico set of the film Rust in October, his attorney and a law enforcement official said.

A search warrant for Baldwin’s iPhone was issued in December. The Santa Fe County, New Mexico, sheriff’s office had said earlier this week that it was still trying to obtain the device from the 30 Rock actor.

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As US west braces for omicron surge, leaders take a hands-off approach

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Experts call for public health measures beyond vaccines as health workers describe a ‘war zone’

As the highly transmissible Omicron variant began to surge across Colorado this month, Governor Jared Polis adopted a laissez-faire tone. Asked in a radio interview about the possibility of reinstating a statewide mask mandate, he replied that, with Covid vaccines now widely available, getting sick was the “own darn fault” of the unvaccinated.

But health workers at hospitals in parts of Colorado that have been overwhelmed by coronavirus patients in recent weeks say they’re bracing for even worse.

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Search warrant issued for Alec Baldwin’s phone over Rust shooting investigation

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Investigators say there could be evidence on the star’s iPhone relating to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins

A search warrant has been issued for Alec Baldwin’s phone in the investigation into October’s fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of the actor/director’s film Rust, according to New Mexico court documents.

The search warrant and accompanying affidavit were filed on Thursday in Santa Fe county magistrate Court nearly two weeks after a New Mexico prosecutor overseeing the probe said some of the individuals who handled guns on the film set may face criminal charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins.

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Single bullet likely caused death after Alec Baldwin fired gun on set, police say – video

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Live bullets, including the round it is believed killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza, were found on the set of the movie Rust last week after Alec Baldwin fired a gun as part of the action, officials said on Wednesday.

Santa Fe county sheriff Adan Mendoza said police believed they had the firearm and the spent shell casing from the bullet involved. No decisions have been made yet about any criminal charges relating to last week’s tragedy on set in New Mexico

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Halyna Hutchins mourned amid anger at Hollywood ‘cutting corners’ on sets

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Somber vigil charged with subdued rage over conditions that many lower-paid crew believe were linked to cinematographer’s death

A public vigil for the slain cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in Los Angeles on Sunday evening served both as an unofficial memorial event and an outlet for anger over working conditions in Hollywood that many lower-paid crew believe were linked to the 42-year old mother’s death.

Several hundred colleagues gathered outside the local union office for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) which represents workers on film and TV sets, who had been poised to go on strike to protest about pay, long hours and dangers on sets just days before Hutchins was fatally shot by Alec Baldwin on the New Mexico set of the desert western film Rust last week.

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