LETTER: Notification of burn days needed

Open burning is the burning of materials such as trees, brush, leaves, etc., where smoke and other emissions are released directly into the air. There are regulations and exceptions.

Rio Rancho is the only major metropolitan city in New Mexico that allows open burn days without a permit. I found out the hard way. I woke up around 6 a.m. on August 15, coughing and congested. This led to my inhaler, allergy medication and cortisol nasal spray. I am a woman in her 60s and have allergy onset asthma. Smoke is my No. 1 allergen.

As it was a cool, breezy night before, I opened my windows to welcome the fresh air. Not. That morning my house was filled with the choking smell of smoke — the dirty kind — not that of a barbecue.

I called the Burn Line — which I just learned of — at 505-891-7268. A recording said it was a burn day, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. Well, it was 6:30 a.m. when smoke awakened me. So, I called the Fire Marshall’s office about public warnings or notifications regarding open burn days. There are none.

Here’s the rub: Rio Rancho prides itself on being in the top 10 U.S. cities for retirees to relocate. That means elders, usually over the age of 60, who may suffer from chronic lung-related illnesses and or who could suffer from bad air quality.

In Albuquerque, an operational permit is required for kindling or maintaining of an open fire on any public or private ground, according to the ABQ Fire and Rescue website. There is an exception: weed removal. It has to be on a burn day, and you must call fire dispatch.

It is stricter in Santa Fe. According to SF County Fire Prevention Department, “prior to commencement of any open burn, an Open Burn Permit must be obtained from (their) local fire district or (this) Division.” Ditto for Las Cruces.

In San Diego, where I lived for 30 years, Cal Fire suspended residential burn permits in the county, citing hot, dry conditions. This was announced May 25 and is still in effect.

I seek the logic of allowing open burns in a state that suffers from severe drought and high heat, as well as unpredictable wind gusts. It may be a nice breezy day at 8 mph, then suddenly, major gusts blow in without warning or a way to prepare for them. This is in addition to Red Flag Days.

Can we please, statewide, reconsider open burn days, permitting and forewarning to the public so we can prepare for better outcomes?

Until then, we need to be proactive to protect ourselves from bad air quality. The NM Environment Department offers an Air Quality Hotline — 505-476-4300 — and a link at nmfireinfo.com/smoke-management. There is also a phone app. That’s great if you are a computer or iPhone-savvy septuagenarian/octogenarian. Wouldn’t it be incredible if our local weather channels could forewarn us of bad air quality due to burn days?

Sue Prelozni

Rio Rancho