Overview

• The emergency order covers Río Arriba County and the Española area from the city of Española to the Colorado state line, including Santa Clara and Ohkay Owingeh pueblos.
• It unlocks $750,000 through the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to fund officer overtime, equipment and coordinated policing efforts.
• The governor’s office cited a doubling of police calls over two years and the county’s highest statewide overdose death rate as justification for the action.
• The order permits National Guard activation without mandating an immediate troop deployment, following a similar April emergency declaration for Albuquerque.
• Local and tribal leaders warned that fentanyl-related overdoses, alcohol abuse, homelessness and family instability have strained public safety resources.