State Forestry officials explained Thursday how New Mexico will benefit from the $28 million in federal wildfire prevention grant funding announced last week.

They said it’s a significant amount of money, and the projects will have a major impact.

Efforts continue statewide to build a better defense against wildfires, especially after the devastating Calf Canyon Hermits Peak fire in 2022, which was the most destructive in state history.

The work will include thinning forests, clearing vegetation, and clearing paths called fuelbreaks.

“It depends where you are. It depends on what the vegetation is, but it’s always going to be removing the vegetation,” said the New Mexico Forestry Division’s Abigail Plecki, who coordinates efforts to get grant money.

The goal is to protect the wilderness, homes, water, and the environment.

“It’s almost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this kind of funding,” Plecki said.

There are three large projects getting $7 million or more. They are for clearing private property in the village of Angel Fire and for protecting water sources around the upper and lower Rio Chama areas.

KOB 4 asked how federal officials decide which areas get funding.

“The directive from the U.S. Forest Service is we need to target communities who are underserved and that have a high wildfire potential and have been affected by severe disasters in the past,” Plecki said.

She said that means low-income areas and areas without a lot of resources, places that have a high risk of facing fires, and locations that have dealt with destructive wildfires before.

New Mexico is getting more than double last year’s amount.

There will be three more years of this grant money.

Other areas of New Mexico got funding but in much smaller amounts.

Ruidoso will get trucks to clear brush, and San Miguel and Mora counties will get some funding for preventative projects.

KOB 4 asked why areas like those around the Calf Canyon Hermits Peak Fire aren’t getting massive chunks of funding. Plecki said each area has to have a plan and apply for the money.

She’s hopeful that over the next three years, more areas in New Mexico will get funding from that federal source and millions of dollars will go to more underserved areas.