09/30/2022
Albuquerque NM Youth Soccer team AUFC Timbers ‘07 Team Helps Local Small Community in Need after Largest New Mexico Forest Fires.
The Hermit’s Peak Fire started in April 2022 in the Santa Fe National Forest. Within weeks, this fire combined with the Calf Canyon fire and quickly became the largest Forest fire in New Mexico history destroying over 341 thousand acres. One of the hardest hit communities was the Gallinas Canyon, outside of Las Vegas, NM. The river flowing through this canyon is the primary source of water for over 13,000 people. At the beginning of September there was only a 20 day reserve of drinking water available to this community due to contamination from flood runoff full of Ash & Sediment left from the fires in the Canyon.
On Sunday, September 25, 2022 members of The AUFC Timbers '07 Boys Soccer team (14 players & 4 parents) along with coaches Roman Griego and Chad Tyson headed up to Gallinas Canyon in Northern New Mexico. The event was organized by a local Subaru dealership, Fiesta Subaru in Albuquerque. In an active demonstration of Subaru's commitment to loving the environment and working to preserve it @ in line with the MLS team Portland Timbers stand together focus on the environment, they jumped on a bus full of over 40 volunteers and drove 2 hours north to help the Hermit's Peak Watershed Alliance restore an area in the canyon that has experienced intense burning and flooding over the past few months. This Timbers team worked hard moving burned logs, bails of hay, mulch, planting grass and building structures to help prevent more ash, sediment and debris from running into the river. “Without this help, I would have been working until next spring to achieve what was done today. Stopping the soils on this charred slope from further washing away into our meadow and the river is critical to restoring our home and livelihood,” said Eric Haggard. Landowners like Mr. Haggard and his family are looking at the next five to ten years of recovery work to bring back the land and Gallinas River to a restored state. Over half of the burned area is private lands where there are limited government funds and resources available for recovery. Hermit’s Peak Watershed Alliance, a nonprofit that has worked in the region’s watersheds for over a decade, was able to hit the ground right away with help from NM Environment Department, Santa Fe Community Foundation, and the Las Vegas Community Foundation. “We are so thankful for the volunteers from Fiesta Subaru, who worked so hard, and our partners at Hermit’s Peak Watershed Alliance, who’ve assessed the damage, recommended treatment, provided the materials and coordinated this work to help us.” Mr. Haggard added. These Timbers players are all currently playing against each other in High School competition, but came together for a community in need of help and showed what an amazing team this group of boys really is.
