Emergency Management

Our Department

The Emergency Management Office is made up of four employees: James F. Baca, Emergency Management Director, Rayeandrea Gutierrez, Administrative Assistant and Robert Honawa, Administrative Assistant. The Emergency Management department was formed in 2011 after the Las Conchas Fire and subsequent floods in the Santa Clara Pueblo Canyon. The goal of the department is to maintain situational awareness, be proactive and to protect the life, safety, and welfare of the Santa Clara Pueblo. The departments responsibilities include:

• Planning, Training, Response and Recovery from all man made and nature caused emergencies/events within the Pueblo Boundaries to include:
  • Fires
  • Floods
  • Traffic Crashes
  • Gas Leaks/Outages
  • Power Outages
  • Pandemics

In March 2020 the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was activated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since that time, three teams have been transitioned into the roles for the Pueblo. Members of these teams have consisted of Tribal Employees with a background in emergency response. All tribal employees are required to take classes for the Incident Command System and Structure. In the event an employee is needed to be brought into the Emergency Operations Center, they can easily be transitioned into a role. The Emergency Management Department has, and will continue, to play a key role in the Pueblo’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.

On March 1, 2021, team three transitioned to assume Incident Command of the EOC, to assist the Pueblo with all aspects of the response to the pandemic. At that time all members of the Emergency Management Department assumed key roles for Incident Command. Since the activation of the EOC, teams have been responsible for many aspects of response. Teams have distributed cleaning supplies, food, and PPE to the community. Members of this team are also responsible for tracking all COVID-19 positive individual(s) from when they test positive, until they are released from mandatory isolation orders.

The Department’s primary focus at this time is the response to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, however the department is still responsible for the Pueblo’s response to any and all man-made/natural disasters in the Pueblo. We continue to monitor the conditions in the canyon and throughout the Pueblo. We have assisted in the implementation of short- and long-term recovery projects in the Pueblo’s watershed from the source, down to the confluence of the Rio Grande River.

If any questions, please don’t hesitate to call Office of Emergency Management at (505) 692-6331.