New report details possible housing, workforce shortages near Las Vegas after fire [The Santa Fe New Mexican]

Jun. 12—The issues mounted as the Las Vegas Community Foundation began to assess the damage caused by the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire.

Some of the small communities just north of Las Vegas, N.M., including Pendaries Village and Rosiada, some of the first affected by the fire when it raged out of control in April, were left devastated by the blaze. Many homes in the area still do not have electricity or running water.

"Now that the community and the region is transitioning from the emergency relief to looking at long-term recovery, we're gonna have to address, what you could call, some structural problems," said Elmo Baca, the foundation's chairman, citing issues that existed even before the fire swept through.

The foundation released an analysis last week listing some of the major challenges in the recovery effort. Among the problems the foundation identified:

* A severe housing shortage, even before the fire.

* Significant problems with the power grid that were exposed by the fire.

* Threats to water and a need for reforestation.

* Difficulty obtaining homeowners insurance and high insurance rates.

* A decreased population, which strains local businesses and local governments and means fewer students in schools — and therefore less money for school districts.

Baca said the foundation has distributed about $250,000 so far in grants to local nonprofits helping with the recovery efforts.

Among them are MainStreet de Las Vegas, which is supporting families with $250 cash grants for basic needs; and the Comedor de San Pascual Soup Kitchen in Las Vegas, which provided meals to families who lost their homes; and the Hermit's Peak Watershed Alliance, which has provided assistance with land restoration, cleaning up people's properties and providing advice on planting new vegetation.

But the needs are far more widespread. The foundation is urging local government leaders, faith groups, large businesses and other community leaders to work together to find solutions.

"The fire burned out a lot of electrical infrastructure," Baca said. "When the fire came through, it burned down all the power poles. So, there's been a real challenge to restore the power."

He said he hopes there will be discussions about integrating sustainable power, like solar panels and wind power, to help supplement the area's electrical grid.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is offering aid to uninsured homeowners who lost their homes in the fire, but Baca said it isn't enough to rebuild a house.

"The community is facing a tremendous gap in what FEMA and other federal agencies are going to be able to provide to rehabilitate the housing stock in the fire area," Baca said.

The foundation worries if families are not able to reestablish themselves quickly, they may not be able to come back. At least 500 families have been displaced from their communities, Baca said.

If evacuees choose not to return, the region could see a sharp population decline, weakening an already crippled workforce.

The foundation's analysis found many businesses were already operating at reduced hours and had staff quitting from overwork or to find better opportunities elsewhere. Additionally, the analysis said, state Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas had over 300 job vacancies.

Baca said one key to ensuring residents displaced by the fire will return to their communities is access to homeowners insurance.

Many homes in the area were uninsured as rates increased, the analysis found, and some insurance companies dropped rural customers altogether.

"We're definitely going to need help from regulators and the Legislature to make sure that places like Northern New Mexico are not abandoned," Baca said. "We need to request assistance from the Legislature to stabilize the rates and make sure that insurers will provide property insurance in some of these high-risk places."

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