Route 66 Independent

06/22/2026

🚨 A lightning-caused wildfire south of Mountainair sent residents of the Deer Canyon neighborhood scrambling for safety over the weekend.

As of Monday morning, the fire had burned over 100 acres and was 0% contained, state forestry officials said. Multiple structures are threatened but none have been destroyed according to fire updates Monday morning.

The Deer Canyon Fire was discovered about 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 20 in the Deer Canyon subdivision south of Mountainair, forestry officials said. By Sunday, "fire behavior became more active during the day as temperatures and winds increased and humidity dropped" officials reported. Residents along Jumano Trail were ordered to evacuate for a short period and others were placed in "ready" status, meaning they should be prepared to leave on a moment's notice. The Mountainair Dispatch reported that some residents received conflicting instructions from local officials about evacuations and some were temporarily prohibited from entering the subdivision.

An animal shelter has been established at the Mountainair rodeo grounds on NM 107. Keep reading with the story linked in comments ⤵️

📸: New Mexico Forestry Division

06/05/2026

Olivas, Riley advance to East Mountain County Commission race in November; Olivas seeks a second term

Bernalillo County Commissioner Eric Olivas, a Democrat, will face Republican Thomas Wayne Riley in November’s election to determine if Olivas will earn a second term.

Olivas defeated radio station owner Byron Powdrell in the Democratic primary ending Tuesday 55% – 44% according to unofficial results from the county clerk’s office. In the Republican primary, Riley, a podcaster, defeated Wayne Yevoli 70% – 29%. A total of 15,655 votes were cast across both primaries.

“With 8,483 votes, this victory belongs to all of us who believe in continuing the work and moving our county forward centered on an agenda that supports workers and families, protects our environment, and lifts up the most needy members of our community,” Olivas told supporters in an email after his victory. “I’m grateful to everyone who supported my campaign. Everyone who voted, knocked doors, made calls, donated, hosted an event, talked to their neighbors, and stood with me every step of the way. Your support is deeply appreciated!”

In response to questions from The Route 66 Independent, Riley told us “I’m honored the people of District 5 overwhelmingly chose to support me and I look forward to a great race as November approaches.”

The County Commission’s District 5 includes the East Mountains and Albuquerque neighborhoods roughly east of Uptown.

Read and share the original story linked below ⤵️

06/04/2026

🚨Commissioner Murillo walks out of meeting; Commissioners learn he directed changes to fire agreement, now jeopardizing implementation; Commission sets up another meeting to approve whatever draft is in place at that time and time is running out.

Patience and time are in short supply in Edgewood these days as the town’s commissioners struggle to pass a simple ordinance to implement a new fire service agreement they already approved with Santa Fe County.

Commissioners received a letter from Santa Fe County last week rejecting their ordinance because it had been altered from the terms of the agreement the town and county had negotiated in May. In response, the town called a hastily-convened meeting for Tuesday night which led to one commissioner walking out and discussions from enraged town residents, worried about the cancellation of homeowners and business insurance policies, openly plotting the recall of leaders or disincorporation of the town.

Read the full story (linked in comments below⤵️) then add your comments below.

06/03/2026

Water service has apparently been restored to the Town of Estancia after a cleanup contractor reportedly damaged a main supply line. The town’s website had a one-sentence update (“Water has been restored!”) posted above an announcement of the outage.

In a post on the town’s page, Councilor Albert Lovato wrote that the mishap occurred at the site of a recently burned building. “Individuals working on the cleanup excavated in the alleyway without first obtaining the required utility locates and markings for water, gas, and fiber lines,” he wrote, adding that the incident caused the loss of about 15,000 gallons of water...

Read more in the story linked in comments ->

06/03/2026

Santa Fe County says Edgewood’s changes to fire ordinance violate agreement, threatening emergency services, again, before they start.

Fire service ends July 1 without dedicated funding.

Read the letter and see what commissioners plan to do next.
Story linked in comments ⤵️

05/28/2026

Eric Olivas is finishing his first 4-year term serving the East Mountains on the Bernalillo County Commission and asking for a second.

Opinion: Continuing to deliver for the East Mountains
Letter to the Editor from Bernalillo Co. Commissioner Eric Olivas
Dear Neighbors: During my tenure in office, we’ve delivered big wins for the rural East Mountains; while making strong progress on issues like public safety, behavioral health and housing across the region.... Keep reading at the link in comments... ⤵️

05/28/2026

State police identify substance that killed 3 and hospitalized more than 20 in Mountainair?

New Mexico State Police provided an update and we were there to get the details last Friday.

Details in the story linked below ⤵️

05/28/2026

Would you vote to give up on the town of Edgewood?

After the debacle with fire service and frustrations with budget woes, a group of residents say they've had enough with the Edgewood experiment in self-governance.

They are starting the process to force an election to unincorporate the town.

Why? How does that work? We dig in at the story linked in the comments below... ⤵️

05/27/2026

For years, Edgewood has been spending more than it takes in. The spending spree is running out as a new commissioner and staff look for millions in cuts to balance the budget...

Edgewood eyes millions in cuts to plug overspending gap - Route 66 Independent

By Pat Davis and Jesse Jones, The Route 66 Independent – For years, Edgewood commissioners have relied on leftover Covid-era federal government handouts and previous year budget surpluses to pay for new town services including police, parks, events and streets without raising the taxes to fund the...

05/20/2026

Three people are dead and 19 others are hospitalized — including 18 first responders — after an unidentified substance was discovered at a Mountainair residence Wednesday, triggering a major hazmat response from state and county agencies.

By Kevin Hendricks — The Paper. Three people are dead and 19 others are hospitalized — including 18 first responders — after an unidentified substance was discovered at a Mountainair residence Wednesday, triggering a major hazmat response from state and county agencies. New Mexico State Police...