Relief from the Inferno

June 20, 2022

New Mexico Knights help neighbors recover from the largest wildfire in state history

By Elisha Valladares-Cormier

June 20, 2022

Knights who ran an evacuation site for people displaced by nearby wildfires stand together — Knights from Nuestra Señora del Rosario Council 10517 in Santa Fe, N.M., stand together after a recent supply run to an evacuation site for people displaced by nearby wildfires. (Spirit Juice Studios)

What began April 6 as a controlled burn east of Santa Fe, N.M., soon turned into the largest wildfire in state history, consuming over 300,000 acres and forcing more than 25,000 people to evacuate. As thousands of families fled the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, local Knights of Columbus stepped up to provide much-needed resources and comfort.

“We’re trying to help all the people that have been displaced,” said New Mexico State Program Director Anthony Romero, a member of Nuestra Señora del Rosario Council 10517 in Santa Fe. “With all the turmoil going on, we need to let people know there are people they can count on and who care.”

Council 10517 immediately rallied to collect donations of food, water and other essentials from the local community to bring to people affected by the fires. Since early May, the council has made a number of supply runs to local evacuation sites. The first load — which filled three trucks and three trailers — went to Glorieta Camps, a site managed by the Salvation Army that also serves as a central supply area for other evacuation locations. Father Jordan Sanchez, council chaplain, also visited to pray with and comfort evacuees.

During one of its recent deliveries, Council 10517 partnered with Las Vegas (N.M.) Council 804 to hold a barbecue for evacuees and emergency personnel at a local middle school. For many Las Vegas Knights, helping those displaced by the fires hit close to home.

Benjamin Maynes, grand knight of Council 804, returned from the New Mexico state convention in late April to find ash and cinders from the wildfire in his front yard. He and his wife packed up their motorhome with essentials and left the area for a few days, not knowing if their house would still be standing when they returned.

“We have a Knight who was displaced and another who lost 18 acres of his property,” Maynes said. “A lot of people have been impacted, and so we pray with them and help them along.”

Having raised thousands of dollars to provide food and resources to people who have lost their homes, the Knights of Council 10517 know their work is just beginning, said Grand Knight Richard Martinez.

“There’s a lot of folks I’ve talked to who still haven’t made it back to see if their house is standing or not,” Martinez said. “But everybody can do their part, no matter how big or small. That’s why my brother Knights and I are here, and together it makes a big difference.”

*****

ELISHA VALLADARES-CORMIER is the associate editor of Columbia.

Keep Christ in Christmas-themed model boxcars roll along the O-gauge track layout at the Railroad Museum of Long Island

Relief from the Inferno

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