On August 16 a tragic incident in Mora left the county paralyzed. I send out my sincerest condolences to the families.
However, I am not talking about the incident but its immediate aftermath. I was heading back home to Holman when I was stopped at the county line coming from Taos. I had a feeling something was happening when I was passed by white police trucks from the Taos County Sheriff’s Office in the canyon near La Junta. The State Police roadblock was at the county line.
I asked the officer what was happening and he said an incident in Mora would cause NM518 to be closed for at least 48 hours and that the Taos County Sheriff’s Office was backing up Mora County Sheriff and State Police officers.
I was immediately taken back to the great fire when I was told the exact same thing by an officer at the exact same location. Back then the officer said I could go around through Angel Fire, but this time the officer said all traffic was stopped going into Mora. So, me and several others were kept waiting. I have a satellite connection so I was able to share my internet to others who could not get phone signals in the mountains.
The point is that Mora should have a grid system of roads that circumvent the town in an emergency. The county, through eminent domain, buys strips of land parallel to NM518 to build wide roads to accommodate semi-tractors, RVs, and traffic. That is the true public need.
When I think back at the traffic stopped along NM518, and all the people stuck on all roads leading into and out of Mora, then about people stranded in town, and the confusion it caused, there must be an alternative route through town.
And I know that if I felt the effects of being told I can’t get to my home again triggered a feeling inside me, just like it did during the fire, of helplessness, and that feeling probably happened to a lot of others in Mora, too.