For Immediate Release: June 10, 2022
Sierra Club Raises Over $25,000 to benefit Las Vegas Community Fund, Wildfire Victims
Las Vegas, NM — In response to the fires that have ravaged New Mexico, the Sierra Club nationally raised nearly $25,000 from member donations to benefit the Las Vegas Community Fund. Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter Executive Committee member Anita Gonzales authored a national email and blog related her experience as an evacuee from Las Vegas, NM, where her family has liveed for generations.
In anticipation of President Biden’s visit to New Mexico, conservation groups have provided an analysis of how climate change is increasing the size, speed, and intensity of wildfires statewide.
“I consider myself lucky that I only had to evacuate but that I didn’t lose my home, as my Aunt did and so many others in our community. Now we are focused on recovery in the short term, but these wildfires are truly unprecedented. With each year that passes, fire season stretches earlier into the spring and later into the winter. As we experience the worst drought in at least 1,200 years, experts are cautioning that more fires could be on the horizon. We must cultivate resilience as the climate crisis’s impacts continue to grow. Our planet is hurting, and we must listen.”
— Anita Gonzales, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter board member, Las Vegas, NM
“Our members, leaders and partners are experiencing the most immediate impacts of climate change in the form of the fires ravaging the state. Around the country and world communities are experiencing heatwaves, sea-level rise, extreme hurricanes and tornadoes. Now more than ever we’ve got to help our neighbors recover, we’ve got to build fire-smart communities, and we’ve got to take real action to curb climate change. New Mexico is now the second largest producer of oil in the country. Our emissions are heating the planet and we’ve got to take responsibility for that.”
— Camilla Feibelman, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter director
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Featured image from KRQE, attributed to Forest Service
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