Governor issues emergency declarations, thousands remain powerless in metro area after snowstorm

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued two emergency declarations Thursday to provide $1.5 million to help communities deal with storms that produced over two feet of snow in places and caused power outages and road closures.

“This declaration gives the state more resources to continue supporting local responders as this major snowstorm persists,” she said in a statement.

The governor commended first responders for clearing roads, escorting people to safety and “doing what needs to be done to support New Mexicans challenged by this storm.”

The storm produced several inches of snow from Las Vegas to the metro area, where as many as about 50,000 Public Service Co. of New Mexico customers lost power Thursday.

According to the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, the foothills area received as much as 8 inches of precipitation late Wednesday night into Thursday. Edgewood reported 8 to 15 inches, Sandia Park got 11½ inches and Rio Rancho received 4 to 6 inches. Three inches fell in Bernalillo. Four-tenths of an inch of snow fell at Albuquerque International Sunport.

“This really is an unprecedented storm in the fact that it came so early and so heavily while leaves were still on the trees and that has caused limbs to be much heavier than they would normally be,” PNM spokesperson Jeff Buell said during a city of Albuquerque news conference Thursday afternoon. “And as you’ve probably seen for yourselves, that has caused a lot of the broken tree limbs around the city.”

PNM said in an email it mobilized more than 100 crew members who were working to restore over 100 outages, many of which were concentrated in the North Valley and Corrales.

Buell said at one point there were over 50,000 customers without power in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe areas. That figure dropped to about 20,000 customers as of 4:45 p.m. Thursday

He said thousands of customers would have their power restored in a couple of hours, but because of the number of outages, “it could be an extended period of time” before everyone gets back online. Some customers could be without power into Friday.

Buell said if people see downed power lines or outages, they should call 1-888-DIAL-PNM.

“If you see a line on the ground, assume that it is energized and also be aware there are wet conditions that make it doubly hazardous,” he said.

According to the city, the outages caused 21 traffic signals to stop working.

“Drivers should treat those intersections as four-way stops,” Albuquerque Police Department spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said.

Bernalillo County spokesperson Melissa Smith said snowplows had been clearing roads since early Thursday morning. According to the city, all 70 of its Department of Municipal Development trucks were deployed.

Despite the crews being out, there were some school closures and delays due to the weather.

The city’s nonessential offices opened later Thursday morning while the BioPark Zoo, Botanic Garden and East Mountain Library were closed.

In Santa Fe, city offices were closed due to the storm.

According to the Weather Service, a winter storm warning remains in effect in the metro area until 11 a.m. Friday. Albuquerque could receive an additional 1 to 3 inches of snow by Friday morning.

If anyone has pets, keep them inside, Albuquerque Animal Welfare Director Carolyn Ortega said.

For unhoused people, the city has an overnight transportation service available to get them to a shelter. People can call 505-418-6178.

If they decline that, the city will hand out blankets and other items they can use to stay warm, Albuquerque Community Safety Department Director Jodie Esquibel said.

The city has also set up warming shelters at various senior centers and multigenerational centers.

Bernalillo County opened up the Westside Community Center, 1250 Isleta SW, to South Valley residents who have been impacted by the weather and lost their power.

Ferguson said if people have questions they can call 505-314-0176.

‘It’s still coming down’

The winter storm not only caused problems in the metro area but across the state.

Interstate 40 near Clines Corners, I-25 at Raton Pass, U.S. 87 from Raton to Clayton and U.S. 56 from Springer to Clayton were shut down due to snow-packed and icy roads, according to nmroads.com.

The National Weather Service of Albuquerque reported more than 100 vehicles were stranded on U.S. 56, 412 and 87 in the Clayton area.

Emergency blizzard conditions will continue through Friday night over much of Colfax, Union, San Miguel and Harding counties.

The heavy snow also hit Las Vegas, which was predicted to get over 40 inches of snow by the time the storm passes through the area. As of 12:45 p.m. Thursday, it got about between 2 and 3 feet of snow, according to the NWS.

“It’s still coming down,” Raymond Jojola of NWS said.

Governor’s Office spokesperson Michael Coleman said since Wednesday, New Mexico State Police have responded to multiple calls to assist stranded motorists.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation sent out 255 snowplows to clear roads and was planning to continue to work through the night Thursday. The New Mexico National Guard was also helping clear roads in Las Vegas. The State Emergency Operations Center has been activated to coordinate resources and the multi-agency response.