Four people have been killed in a crash of a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office helicopter that was headed back to Albuquerque after assisting firefighters in another New Mexico city, authorities said Sunday. Sheriff’s officials said three people from the sheriff’s office and a county firefighter were aboard the helicopter when it went down near Las Vegas, New Mexico, about 123 miles (197 kilometers) northeast of Albuquerque. Killed in the crash were Undersheriff Larry Koren, Lt. Fred Beers, Deputy Michael Levison and county Fire and Rescue Department Specialist Matthew King, according to sheriff's officials. The ages of the four men weren't immediately available. A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman had said the Bell UH-1H helicopter crashed around 10 p.m. Saturday, but sheriff's officials said it was about 7:20 p.m. The cause of the crash is unknown and will be investigated by the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board. Read:Ukrainian cargo plane crashes in Greece New Mexico State Police confirmed the crash and the fatalities around 12:15 a.m. Sunday. They said helicopter and its crew had been assisting with a wildfire in the Las Vegas area Saturday, providing bucket drops and other air logistics needs to fire crews on the ground. Sheriff's officials said they now are working with the Office of the Medical Investigator to recover the bodies of the four men and take them back to Albuquerque. Aerial video from KOAT-TV showed the wreckage of the helicopter in at least two pieces among some desert shrubs, the Albuquerque Journal reported. In the past several days, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office used its Metro 2 helicopter to fight a small fire in the East Mountains near Albuquerque and another fire near Santa Fe, according to Albuquerque TV station KQRE. “I am heartbroken by the tragic loss of four New Mexicans while in the line of duty," Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. "As we await additional details on the investigation, my office will offer any available support and assistance to the sheriff’s office and the county. State resources will be fully available to assist the investigation.”

New Mexico's film and TV industry has hit a new peak, with record spending by video production companies in a state that drew projects including the Netflix series “Stranger Things." Production companies directly spent a record $855 million on films, TV series and other media in the fiscal year that ended on June 30, New Mexico's governor announced Thursday. Industry executives have been attracted to New Mexico’s unique landscapes since the success of AMC's long-running series “Breaking Bad” and a generous increase of incentives passed by state lawmakers in 2019. In-state spending by the industry increased about 36% from nearly $627 million the previous fiscal year. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a first-term Democrat running for reelection, also touted an increase in spending beyond major cities such as Santa Fe and Albuquerque, fueled by expanded state incentives for rural and small-town film production. Local production spending in those outlying areas jumped more than six-fold to $49.5 million amid an industry rebound, state economic development officials told a legislative panel gathered in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Also read: Stranger Things 3 first impression: It’s already better than the second season It was unclear how much the state will eventually spend on corresponding film incentive payments. New Mexico offers a rebate of between 25% and 35% of in-state spending for video production that helps filmmakers large and small underwrite their work. Incentive payments crested at $148 million in 2019 before falling to about $40 million for the year ending in June 2021. While the state general fund is awash in income linked to federal pandemic aid along with a surge in oil and natural gas prices and production, some lawmakers have criticized the rebates as being too costly. State economic development officials say conversations are underway with lawmakers to revisit terms of the state film tax rebate program when the Legislature meets again in January 2023, possibly redrawing the boundaries for bonuses in rural areas and exploring new incentives linked to lower emissions of climate-warming pollution by the energy-intensive industry. Fiscally conservative legislators have questioned for years whether New Mexico may be spending too much on the film industry in comparison with the employment it sustains. But Lujan Grisham pointed to state data that showed an increase in the number of industry worker hours and new highs for the number of film and television productions overall at nearly 110 for the year. “Due to the work we’ve done to foster a successful environment for production and build a thriving base of talented local crews, film and television productions from around the world are putting money directly into New Mexico communities, supporting our small businesses and creating jobs for thousands of New Mexicans,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. Also read: New Coke, from 1985, makes comeback with 'Stranger Things' After the success of “Breaking Bad” and spinoff “Better Call Saul,” other notable recent productions in New Mexico include portions the fourth season of the Netflix series “Stranger Things” and AMC's “Dark Winds," based on the the mystery book series from Tony Hillerman and daughter Anne Hillerman. Both Netflix and NBCUniversal have set up permanent production hubs in Albuquerque in recent years, adding to millions of dollars in investments and promises of more jobs. Legislative reforms in 2019 opened up greater incentives to film production companies that demonstrate long-term commitments to New Mexico through a 10-year contract on a qualified production facility. Netflix and NBCUniversal have secured that “film partner” status that lifts the cap on annual production rebates. Spending by the industry had been trending upward before the pandemic brought a halt to work due to public health mandates and industry protocols, resulting in a precipitous drop in 2020. As restrictions were eased, spending rebounded in 2021 as work ramped up. Record-setting activity took place amid allegations of workplace safety violations on the set of “Rust,” where actor and producer Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in October 2021. No criminal charges have been filed in the case and Baldwin has denied wrongdoing. Rust Movie Productions is challenging the basis of a $137,000 fine against the company by state occupational safety regulators who say production managers on the set of the Western film failed to follow standard industry protocols for firearms safety. The Legislature this year allocated $40 million to help establish a collaborative media academy to bolster training for the industry. Economic Development Secretary Alicia Keyes said the headquarters of the academy will be located in Albuquerque.

President Joe Biden will visit New Mexico on Saturday to talk about his administration’s efforts to tackle wildfires as residents smolder with anger over how federal officials allowed planned burns to spread out of control, leading to the largest blaze in recorded state history. The fire has been contained on several fronts, but is still burning amid dangerously hot and dry conditions. It’s destroyed more than 430 homes across 500 square miles (1,300 square kilometers) since early April, according to federal officials. Evacuations have displaced thousands of residents from rural villages with Spanish-colonial roots and high poverty rates, while unleashing untold environmental damage. Fear of flames is giving way to concern about erosion and mudslides in places where superheated fire penetrated soil and roots. The blaze is the latest reminder of Biden's concern about wildfires, which are expected to worsen as climate change continues, and how they'll strain resources needed to fight them. “These fires are blinking ‘code red’ for our nation," Biden said last year after stops in Idaho and California. "They’re gaining frequency and ferocity.” READ: Biden vows to battle inflation as prices keep climbing In New Mexico, investigators have tracked the two source fires to burns that were set by federal forest managers as preventative measures. A group of Mora County residents sued the U.S. Forest Service this week in an effort to obtain more information about the government’s role. Ralph Arellanes of Las Vegas, New Mexico, said many ranchers of modest means appear unlikely to receive compensation for uninsured cabins, barns and sheds that were razed by the fire. “They’ve got their day job and their ranch and farm life. It’s not like they have a big old house or hacienda — it could be a very basic home, may or may not have running water,” said Arellanes, a former wildland firefighter and chairman for a confederation of Hispanic community advocacy groups. “They use it to stay there to feed and water the cattle on the weekend. Or maybe they have a camper. But a lot of that got burned.” The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved 890 disaster relief claims worth $2.7 million for individuals and households. On Thursday, the Biden administration extended eligible financial relief to the repair of water facilities, irrigation ditches, bridges and roads. Proposed legislation from Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M., would offer full compensation for nearly all lost property and income linked to the wildfire. Jennifer Carbajal says she evacuated twice from the impending wildfire at a shared family home at Pandaries in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The house survived while about 50 neighboring homes burned along with the tanks that feed the municipal water system, leaving no local supply of potable water without truck deliveries. “There is no long-term plan right now for water infrastructure in northern New Mexico,” Carbajal said. She said matters are worse in many hardscrabble communities across fire-scarred Mora County, where the median household income is roughly $28,000 — less than half the national average. “They barter a lot and really have never had to rely on external resources,” she said. “The whole idea of applying for a loan (from FEMA) is an immediate turnoff for the majority of that population.” George Fernandez of Las Vegas, New Mexico, says his family is unlikely to be compensated for an uninsured, fire-gutted house in the remote Mineral Hills area, nor a companion cabin that was built by his grandparents nearly a century ago. Fernandez said his brother had moved away from the house to a nursing home before the fire swept through — making direct federal compensation unlikely under current rules because the house was no longer a primary residence. “I think they should make accommodations for everybody who lost whatever they lost at face value,” Fernandez said. “It would take a lot of money to accomplish that, but it was something they started and I think they should.”

Douglas Siddens’ mother was among those who made it out with just the clothes on her back when a deadly, wind-fueled wildfire ripped through a mountain community in southern New Mexico. The RV park where she lived was reduced to “metal frame rails and steel wheels,” said Siddens, who managed the site “I had like 10 people displaced. They lost their homes and everything, including my mom,” he said. The fire has destroyed more than 200 homes and killed two people since it broke out Tuesday near the village Ruidoso, a vacation spot that draws thousands of tourists and horse racing fans every summer. Hundreds of homes and summer cabins dot the surrounding mountainsides. The RV park that Siddens managed is near where an elderly couple was found dead this week outside their charred residence. Also read: 2 dead, more than 200 homes charred in New Mexico wildfire Elsewhere in the U.S., crews have been battling large fires this week in Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado, where a new blaze forced evacuations Friday along the Rocky Mountain's eastern front near Lyons about 18 miles (29 kilometers) north of Boulder. That fire was burning in the Blue Mountains near the Larimer-Boulder county line about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Estes Park, the east entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. In New Mexico, power was restored to all but a few hundred customers, but evacuation orders for close to 5,000 people remained in place. Donations poured in from surrounding communities all too familiar with just how devastating wildfires can be. It was a decade ago that fire ripped through part of the village of Ruidoso, putting the vacation spot on the map with the most destructive wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history when more than 240 homes burned and nearly 70 square miles (181 square kilometers) of forest were blackened by a lightning-sparked blaze. On Friday, Mayor Lynn Crawford was rallying heartbroken residents once again as firefighters tried to keep wind-whipped flames from making another run at the village. She said the response from their neighbors has been amazing.   “So we have plenty of food, we have plenty of clothes, those kinds of things but we still appreciate and need your prayers and your thoughts,” the mayor said during a briefing. “Again, our hearts go out to the family of the deceased, to those that have lost their homes.” Authorities have yet to release the names of the couple who died. Their bodies were found after worried family members contacted police, saying the couple had planned to evacuate Tuesday when the fire exploded but were unaccounted for later that day. Also read: Firefighters increase containment on Colorado wildfire While many older residents call Ruidoso home year round, the population of about 8,000 people expands to about 25,000 during the summer months as Texans and New Mexicans from hotter climates seek respite. Fans also flock to Ruidoso Downs, home to one of the sport’s richest quarter-horse competitions. The racing season was expected to start May 27, and horses that board there aren’t in any danger as fire officials use the facility as a staging ground. Part-time residents have taken to social media over the last few days, pleading with fire officials for updates on certain neighborhoods, hoping their family cabins weren’t among those damaged or destroyed. The hotlines lit up Friday afternoon as people in the village called in to report more smoke. Fire information officer Mike DeFries said that was because there were flare-ups within the interior of the fire as the flames found pockets of unburned fuel. While the fire didn’t make any runs at the lines crews had established, he said it was still a tough day for firefighters due to single-digit humidity, warmer temperatures and the wind. Authorities reiterated that it was still too early to start letting people in to see the damage. They asked for patience as fire crews put out hot spots and tried to build a stronger perimeter around the blaze. “It’s still an active fire area in there and it’s not a safe place,” DeFries said. “It’s going to require patience. At the same time, every step that we’re taking is designed to suppress this fire and to get people back home as soon as possible.” New Mexico authorities said they suspect the fire, which has torched more than 9.5 square miles (24 square kilometers) of forest and grass, was sparked by a downed power line and the investigation continued Friday. Hotter and drier weather coupled with decades of fire suppression have contributed to an increase in the number of acres burned by wildfires, fire scientists say. The problem is exacerbated by a more than 20-year Western megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change.

New Mexico search and rescue crews used ropes and helicopters Saturday to rescue 21 people who were stranded overnight in two tram cars after an iced-over cable caused the cars to get stuck high up in the Sandia Mountains overlooking Albuquerque. Lt. Robert Arguellas a Bernalillo County Fire Department spokesperson, said early Saturday afternoon that crews first rescued 20 people stranded in one car and several hours later rescued a 21st person stranded by themselves in a second car. All the people on the two cars were employees of the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway or a mountaintop restaurant, and the 20 in one car were being ferried down to the base of the mountains at the end of their workdays, Arguellas said. Read: UN leader urges 'concrete' moves on year-end vaccine goal The other employee had been heading up the mountain to provide overnight security when the tram system shut down Friday night due to icing, Arguellas said. There were no reported injuries among those stranded, Arguellas said. “More just pretty frustrated.” To rescue the 20 people in the one car, operators were able to move it to a nearby support tower more than halfway up the mountain, and search and rescue personnel early Saturday morning hiked to the area and climbed the tower to deliver blankets and other supplies to those inside the heated car, Arguellas said. Search and rescue personnel over several hours used ropes and other equipment to lower the stranded employees about 85 feet (26 meters) to the ground before escorting them to a nearby landing zone in the steep and rocky terrain where the tower was located, Arguellas said. The 20 people were then ferried by helicopter several at a time to the base of the mountains, he said. Also read; 20 trapped miners rescued from flooded coal mine in north China Arguellas said the second car with the one employee aboard was higher up the mountain and at location where the car was too high above the ground to lower people by ropes. But the tram system was able to inch the second car down the cable to the rescue site at the support tower, and rescuers then used ropes to lower the 21st person as was done with the others, Arguellas said. Brian Coon, a tramway system manager, said there was an unusually fast accumulation of ice on one of the cables that made it droop below the tram, making it dangerous to keep going, KOB-TV reported.

One student was killed and another was taken into custody Friday after a shooting at a middle school near downtown Albuquerque during the lunch hour, police said. The gunfire at Washington Middle School marked the second shooting in New Mexico’s largest city in less than 24 hours. Albuquerque is on pace to shatter its homicide record this year, having already matched within the first eight months of the year the previous annual high of 80 homicides set in 2019. Albuquerque Public Schools Superintendent Scott Elder said during a news conference with police that it was a terrible day for the district and the whole community. READ: Student, officer hurt in 2nd Wisconsin high school shooting  “I want to send out my thoughts and prayers to all of our students, all of our families that are impacted by this horrible event,” he said. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she was heartbroken and noted more work needs to be done to address gun violence in the state. Albuquerque police Deputy Commander Kyle Hartsock described the shooting as an isolated incident between the two students, who were believed to be about 13 years old. He said a school resource officer ran toward the two boys after gunfire erupted, and prevented any other violence. Hartsock said investigators were trying to determine how the student obtained the gun and what may have prompted the shooting. He said other students will be interviewed as detectives try to piece together what happened. The school was locked down, and parents were asked to pick up their children. Friday marked just the third day of classes for Albuquerque’s public school district. While students won’t return until Tuesday, Elder said the school staff will be making preparations to ensure students have access to counseling and any other support services they need. “Of course it’s extremely difficult,” he said of something like this happening so early in the school year. “There’s a lot of pressure in the community. People are nervous. It was a terrible incident that happened between two people. It should have never happened. ... This shouldn’t happen in the community. It certainly shouldn’t happen at a school.” Police said more officers will be present when students return, hoping to provide a sense of security and in case students have any more information about the shooting. Gunfire also rang out Thursday night at a sports bar and restaurant near a busy Albuquerque shopping district. Police said one person was killed and three were injured after someone pulled out a gun during a fight. No arrests have been made in that case. Investigators were reviewing surveillance video and interviewing witnesses. Authorities identified the man who was killed as Lawrence Anzures, a 30-year old boxer from Albuquerque. “Any small piece of information can help in turning this into a prosecutable case so that the family and friends of Lawrence can get the justice they deserve,” Hartsock said. READ: Teen used 'ghost gun' in California high school shooting While standing at an intersection near the school, top police officials were asked by reporters about the ongoing violence in Albuquerque. The city for years has had problems with high crime rates, but the officials pointed to other cities across the U.S. that are now also seeing increases. “I think it takes not only police, but the community as well to do something about this problem and address it head on,” said Deputy Chief Eric Garcia. “Right now, this is a community issue. It’s not just a police issue. We all have to work together.”

A hot air balloon hit a power line and crashed onto a busy street in Albuquerque on Saturday, killing all five people on board, including the parents of an Albuquerque police officer, police said. The crash happened around 7 a.m. in the city’s west side, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said. Police identified two of the passengers as Martin Martinez, 59, and Mary Martinez, 62 — the parents of a prison transport officer with the Albuquerque Police Department. Read:Crews at collapse site find body, raising death toll to five Police did not immediately release the others’ names but said the male pilot, and a female and male passenger were from central New Mexico. Martin Martinez also had worked for Albuquerque police on bicycle patrol but most recently was a sergeant with the local school district’s police force, authorities said. Some Albuquerque officers who responded to the crash had worked with him and were sent home because it took a toll on them, said police Chief Harold Medina. “It really emphasized the point that no matter how big we think we are, we’re still a tightknit community and incidents like this affect us all,” Medina said. The Albuquerque Public Schools District said Martin Martinez “will forever be remembered for his lifelong dedication, courage and selflessness to the profession of law enforcement.” The intersection where the balloon crashed was still cordoned off late Saturday afternoon. The multi-colored balloon had skirted the top of the power lines, sending at least one dangling and temporarily knocking out power to more than 13,000 homes, said police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos. The gondola fell about 100 feet (30 meters) and crashed in the street’s median, catching on fire, the Federal Aviation Administration said. Bystanders frantically called out for a fire extinguisher to put out the flames and prayed aloud, video posted online showed. Read:Toll in Florida collapse rises to 4; 159 remain missing The envelope of the balloon floated away, eventually landing on a residential rooftop, Gallegos said. The FAA did not immediately have registration details for the balloon but identified it as a Cameron 0-120. Authorities haven’t determined what caused the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board sent two investigators to the scene Saturday who will look into the pilot, the balloon itself and the operating environment, said spokesman Peter Knudson. A preliminary report typically is available in a couple of weeks. Gallegos said hot air balloons can be difficult to manage, particularly when the wind kicks up. “Our balloonists tend to be very much experts at navigating, but sometimes we have these types of tragic accidents,” he said. Albuquerque is a mecca for hot air ballooning. The city hosts a nine-day event in October that draws hundreds of thousands of spectators and pilots from around the world. It is one of the most photographed events globally. Albuquerque-area residents are treated to colorful displays of balloons floating over homes and along the Rio Grande throughout the year. While accidents aren’t common, they happen. “This is a tragedy that is uniquely felt and hits uniquely hard at home here in Albuquerque and in the ballooning community,” said Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller. Read:Collapsed Florida building drew global visitors, residents Since 2008, there have been 12 fatal hot air ballooning accidents in the United States, according to an NTSB database. Two of those happed in Rio Rancho just outside Albuquerque, including one in January where a passenger who was ejected from the gondola after a hard landing died from his injuries. In 2016 in neighboring Texas, a hot air balloon hit high-tension power lines before crashing into a pasture in the central part of the state. All 16 people on board died. Federal authorities said at the time it was the worst such disaster in U.S. history.

President-elect Joe Biden selected New Mexico Rep Deb Haaland as his nominee for interior secretary on Thursday, a historic pick that would make her the first Native American to lead the powerful federal agency that has wielded influence over the nation’s tribes for generations.