Major Winter Storm Impacts Santa Fe

Major Winter Storm Impacts Santa Fe

Winter storm Anya continues to impact Santa Fe. Starting Wednesday, November 6th, and continuing through today, over 10 inches of snow has accumulated in Santa Fe. More is expected, and Santa Fe is forecasted to have an additional five inches of snow this week, combined with freezing temperatures over the weekend. The weight of the snow caused tree branches to break, affecting power lines. Dozens of downed power lines in Santa Fe led to wide-spread power outages for thousands of residents. PNM is working to restore power as rapidly as possible. The power outage affected the Santa Fe Regional Airport on Thursday morning, causing flight delays. Power was restored to the airport this afternoon, but as of 4:00 pm, 1,500 residents remain without power.

The City of Santa Fe activated Code Blue on Wednesday, November 6th, at 1:30 p.m. Code Blue calls for additional outreach by first responders to support homeless and unsheltered individuals with access to shelter, food, and life-saving cold-weather clothing and blankets. Unsheltered individuals are provided transportation to a number of locations where they can find safety, warmth, and food.

During Code Blue activations, the City of Santa Fe Transit Division offers free bus rides and continues to run regular routes. The City of Santa Fe's Alternative Response Unit (ARU), which operates under the Santa Fe Fire Department, has handed out more than 50 cold weather bags since yesterday. The bags include gloves, socks, hats, and hand and foot warmers. The Code Blue procedures for the Santa Fe Police Department, Fire Department, and Park Rangers will continue through Thursday night and into the early morning on Friday.

Emergency shelters in the City accommodated over 180 guests last night; they are not at capacity and are able to accommodate additional individuals seeking support. If residents are in need of immediate support or wish to report others in need of emergency support, please dial 9-1-1. If someone needs shelter, food or other support that is not an emergency, please dial 2-1-1.

The City of Santa Fe Streets Maintenance Team has been busy plowing the main roads since noon yesterday. Staff is on 12-hour shifts and up to six snowplows are running at a time during the snow operations. Priority is given to major streets and roads, rather than smaller residential streets. The City has more information on snow removal on its website:https://santafenm.gov/public-works/streets-drainage-maintenance/get-ready-for-winter-snow-and-ice. The Streets Maintenance Team has also been helping in tree branch removal along with the City's Parks crews, due to the many downed branches caused by this storm. If residents see a tree branch down they can call constituent services at 505-955-6949 or [email protected].

The City of Santa Fe urges residents to stay home and not travel, if possible. Safety is the biggest concern during this storm. If you do have to travel, allow extra time and be patient. Santa Fe Police would also like to remind everyone that as the sun sets tonight road conditions will worsen with black ice. Also, power outages cause traffic signals to be flashing or dark, so drivers need to take extra precautions. For power outage information, PNM has an outage map website: https://outagemap.pnm.com

Media Contact
Regina Ruiz, Communications Director
[email protected]
505-695-6746

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