The birds are chirping, the sun is shining and the kiddos are preparing for the summer. That means fun in the sun, vacations with the family and, unfortunately, plenty to be concerned about. The Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire recently took the infamous honor of becoming the largest wildfire in New Mexico history as fires continue to rage all over the state, including near Socorro, Jemez Springs and Ruidoso. Not only that, a new coronavirus surge is beginning to cause concern around the globe.
With all of that in mind, this week we asked Albuquerqueans:
Do you have summer travel plans, and if so, will the fires affect them?
A group of ladies doing their morning walk at Academy Hills Park lamented the loss of so much woodland, but said, for the most part, it wouldn’t affect their travel.
Mary Hamner, a retired registered nurse from Los Lunas now living in the Northeast Heights, said, “Well, my daughters and grandchildren and I are going to Italy this summer, so no, the fires won’t really affect us.” After a brief pause she added, “Unless it gets so bad that there is too much smoke to take off or something like that.”
Mary’s friend Carol White, also a retired RN, had a similar sentiment.
“I like to get out in the RV with my husband when it gets really hot [in New Mexico during the summer], but we are probably going to head east this year, so once we are out of Texas, we should be alright.”
Though several of the ladies expressed their concern and sorrow over the loss of land, many said they weren’t planning to travel this summer at all.
Cathy, one of the few masked members of the group, says she has a number of reasons for not vacationing. “The fires are awful, just awful. But gosh, I haven’t been to Taos and that area in years. We usually fly when we go on vacation. I definitely am worried about the fires, but COVID is back and nobody seems to be worried about it anymore. My husband is a cancer survivor. We are going to just stay put with the air conditioner on.”
The group walks three times a week at Academy Hills, and Mary says they are just happy to have the group back together after the quarantine. Unfortunately, not every group member felt comfortable with photos, so the group declined.
This story was written by Neighborhood Journal contributor Taylor Hood.
