If the governor of New Mexico signs SB 138, a bill approved February 17 by the legislature on a vote of 62 to 1, the state will become the seventh member of the Great Plains Interstate Fire Compact, making it easier to share firefighting resources with Colorado, Wyoming, Saskatchewan, Nebraska, and the Dakotas.

A fire official knowledgeable about the Compact said two other states have expressed an interest in becoming members, Utah and Kansas.

There are at least six other fire compacts: Great Lakes, Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, Big River, Northwest, and Southeastern.