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Jemez Mountains fire grows to 7,400 acres
Details of email hacking probe emerge Warrants: Ex-campaign manager renewed Gov. Martinez domain, took correspondence By Steve Terrell The New Mexican
Smoke and flames rise from the Thompson Ridge Fire in the Valles Caldera National Preserve on Tuesday. PHOTOS BY CLYDE MUELLER/THE NEW MEXICAN
THOMPSON RIDGE FIRE 5 PERCENT CONTAINED TRES LAGUNAS FIRE CHARS 9,000 ACRES
A series of search warrant affidavits released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Tuesday provides more details about the investigation into the alleged interception of Gov. Susana Martinez’s emails by her former campaign manager. According to the affidavits, Jamie Estrada, who was indicted last week on charges of hijacking Martinez’s emails, sent an email on Dec. 23, 2009, to Martinez’s political consultant, Jay McCleskey, after he was fired from the campaign, saying, “I can’t understand why she wouldn’t think there are political consequences for treating me poorly and unfairly.” Martinez told the FBI that she’d caught Estrada reading her emails on her campaign email account. Estrada has said he is not guilty. He also said in a statement last week that he was not fired from the campaign. To back that up, Estrada’s lawyer, Zach Ives, released several documents, including a text message to Estrada that indicate he remained in contact with the campaign for
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Staff and wire reports
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moky air hovered over Santa Fe on Tuesday from nearby forest fires, including a wildfire in the Jemez Mountains that continued to burn on the west side of Redondo Peak near popular recreation areas and some homes. Officials say the Thompson Ridge Fire, which has burned about 7,400 acres of steep, rugged terrain, is about 5 percent contained. Firefighting efforts so far have included helicopter water drops, burnouts along roads in the Valles Caldera National Preserve and creating lines with bulldozers to protect private property, homes and infrastructure about 2 miles northeast of La Cueva. Fire suppression efforts prompted the late Tuesday closure of Fenton Lake State Park, where helicopters are dipping water out of the lake. The park will remain closed through at least June 20. Homes in the Thompson Valley, Rancho de la Cueva and Elk Valley areas remained under evacuation orders. The fire was sparked Friday by a downed power line owned by the Jemez
Leaner steak for Dad A firefighting helicopter working the Thompson Ridge Fire fills up with water at Fenton Lake on Tuesday. Fenton Lake State Park has been closed to the public.
Mountains Electric Co-op. The utility is already facing at least two lawsuits stemming from the 2011 Las Conchas Fire that ignited when a tree fell onto a power line. Utility officials said changing regulations to make it easier to widen rights of way and educating property owners about keeping trees from growing into power lines could ease the problem. The fire was upgraded to a Type 2 Emergency Management team on Sunday,
when Arizona Central West Zone Commander Bea Day took over daily control of the response. Type 1 and Type 2 management teams handle the most complex kinds of wildfires that threaten homes and natural resources. The Valles Caldera is closed to the public. However, the trailheads in the Jemez Ranger District, including Las Conchas, Battleship Rock, Jemez Falls and East Fork,
INSIDE
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u Tres Lagunas Fire puts Pecos River trout at risk. PAGE A-4
u Pecos Wilderness closed to visitors. u Forest Service to hire fewer firefighters
Officials say Santa Fe’s smoky air safe, for now By Julie Ann Grimm The New Mexican
Where there is fire, there is smoke. But just because you can smell it doesn’t mean you have to hide indoors. Wildfires burning both east and west of Santa Fe have caused hazy skies and campfire odors in the city recently. However, instruments that monitor conditions for the the state Environment Department indicate that the concentration of particulate matter in the air remained below harmful levels Tuesday. “The odor doesn’t really correlate to
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Calendar A-2
Classifieds D-2
how good or bad the air is,” said Richard Goodyear, chief of the department’s Air Quality Bureau. “We are showing very low readings for Santa Fe.” Weather changes expected late Tuesday and early Wednesday, however, could make it harder to breathe in Santa Fe. The Department of Health issued a smoke advisory that said potentially dangerous conditions could occur. Monitors at the Santa Fe Municipal Airport and at the Runnels Building near the intersection of St. Francis Drive and
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Comics B-8
Lotteries A-2
Opinions A-5
Make a healthier meal for Father’s Day. TASTE, D-1
Pasapick www.pasatiempomagazine.com
Photo-eye Gallery 376-A Garcia St., 988-5152. Golden Eagle Nomads, photographs by John Delaney; Means of Reproduction, Svjetlana Tepavcevic’s plant seed studies; through July 12, reception 5-7 p.m., artist talk 6 p.m. More events in Calendar, A-2 and Fridays in Pasatiempo
Obituaries Eusebio Dean, May 31 Charles “Chuckie” B. Marsh IV, 38, May 25 Antonio (Tony) J. Rodriguez, June 2 PAGE C-2
Today Haze sits over Santa Fe, as seen from Atalaya Peak on Tuesday morning, but officials say air-quality monitors don’t indicate dangerous conditions. COURTESY KAREN MARROLLI
Police notes C-2
Editor: Rob Dean, 986-3033, rdean@sfnewmexican.com Design and headlines: Brian Barker, bbarker@sfnewmexican.com
Sports B-1
Time Out B-7
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Partly sunny and warm. High 86, low 53. PAGE C-5
Four sections, 28 pages 164th year, No. 156 Publication No. 596-440