Dear fellow citizens of the Village of Questa,

I am writing this letter to inform you of the steps the Village of Questa has and will continue to take in preparedness for any emergency such as a wildfire. While the Hermit’s Peak/ Calf Canyon Wildfire is still far away and there are no current fires or immediate threats to the Village of Questa or surrounding communities, we are still in a severe drought. Here are the steps that the Village of Questa along with Questa Fire Department have taken to prepare:

Fire restrictions were put into place on May 3, 2022. These include no burning, no fireworks, and no smoking outdoors within village limits.

The Questa Fire Department is doing constant patrols throughout the day / evening, looking for smoke, or any illegal burning.

The Village of Questa’s Emergency Operations Plan is being updated: this will help in the event of a major emergency or evacuation. This will help us identify evacuation procedures, routes, and shelter locations.
Questa Fire Department personnel will be going house to house. They will be distributing information on the “Ready, Set, Go” program. This will help you better understand what is meant by Ready, Set, Go in the event of evacuations. They will also gather information from each household. Some of the information that will be collected is if there are special needs citizens who may need extra help in the event of an evacuation or any other emergency.

The Village of Questa has applied for funding to assist with the cost of contractors to inspect and create defensible spaces around homes to better protect them from wildfire.

The Village of Questa has applied for funding for an emergency alert system which will alert the citizens of any critical emergency news, such as evacuations.

Fellow citizens, I ask that you be vigilant in these times of drought. If you see anyone burning, lighting fireworks, smoking outside, or doing anything that may be a fire danger to our Village, please don’t hesitate to call and report to the Taos Central Dispatch non-emergency number, (575) 586-0787.
The Village of Questa Staff and Questa Volunteer Fire Department are doing everything possible to mitigate the possibility of a wildfire within the Village of Questa and surrounding communities. Now is not the time to panic, but please help us be prepared.

Thank you,
Mayor John Ortega

May 19 – Jul 18, 2022
The Carson National Forest is currently in a Stage 3 fire restrictions forest-wide closure. Fire danger remains extreme with record conditions only expected to worsen over the foreseeable future. The closure will be rescinded after significant moisture has been received and overall conditions improve.