The Hermits Peak Fire is apparently under investigation by the federal government, and House Republicans are calling for the State of New Mexico to immediately conduct its own investigation to ensure transparency for New Mexicans. This letter follows a statement on April 27 from House GOP Leader Townsend blasting the Governor and the US Forest Service for reckless disregard of safety.

Santa Fe – Today House Republican Leadership issued a letter to Governor Lujan Grisham calling for an immediate investigation, to be conducted within New Mexico state government agencies, that would parallel an apparent federal investigation into the Forest Service’s controlled burns, specifically the Hermits Peak Fire.

The NM House Republican letter, signed by House Republican Leader Jim Townsend (Artesia), House Republican Whip Rod Montoya (Farmington), and House Republican Caucus Chair Rebecca Dow (T or C), follows weeks of backlash and upset from New Mexicans concerning the reckless disregard for safety in conducting the controlled burn that caused the nation’s largest wildfire. 

From the letter: “It is our sincerest belief that the people of northern New Mexico deserve an impartial and detailed investigation conducted by parties other than those employed by the federal government. Such an investigation was quickly initiated regarding the prescribed burn that resulted in the Cerro Grande Fire in 2000 and the people of northern New Mexico currently being affected by these destructive fires deserve the same response by state and federal officials.”

The letter to the Governor was hand delivered today and is attached to the release.