EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — When you think of the desert, you typically envision cacti, desert wildlife, and sand. It’s not a place where you’d expect to find years’ worth of trash piled up, but this is the reality for some areas in El Paso County.
Rick Flores, who spent decades serving his community, is now spending his retirement tackling a different kind of fire — illegal dumping in the desert. Instead of relaxing, he’s devoted his time to addressing the mess left behind by others.
“When I show people pictures, it doesn’t do any justice,” Flores said, who was a firefighter for El Paso County for 28 years before retiring.
Flores has driven more than 800 miles around El Paso County, scouting for illegal dumping sites. He fears that if these areas are not cleaned up soon, they could have severe consequences, from contaminating water supplies to harming local wildlife.
According to El Paso Water, illegal dumping in El Paso County is a class C misdemeanor. If you are caught, you can face fines up to $4,000.
In response, Flores founded Desert Rescue 915, a nonprofit organization aimed at promoting responsible waste disposal and recycling. Through this initiative, he hopes to make a difference by hosting community events.
“The plan is to have events within the city where we can bring out the large, industrial-sized trash cans and encourage people to come out and dispose of their waste there instead of coming out to the desert and dumping it and creating this mess,” Flores said.
Flores said, although some people may not see the problem with trash in the desert, it will have grave consequences in the long run, more specifically, when the trash begins to degrade and gets into groundwater.
“We’re sitting on top of the Hueco Bolson, and eventually, this stuff here — tires, gallons of oil — it is going to get into drinking water. And, well, we do drink it, so that can affect us.” Flores said.
The Hueco Bolson is a significant groundwater basin in the El Paso region, spanning parts of Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico. It’s an underground aquifer that serves as a crucial source of water for the City of El Paso and surrounding areas.
Flores gave KTSM a tour of the desert area out in Horizon city, where we saw all sorts of trash, from construction grade material, endless piles of tires, and even tar.
“We’ve been getting rain lately. The tires hold the water, and they breed mosquitoes. And I mean, there’s all kinds of diseases now being passed by mosquitoes,” Flores said.
Cleaning up years’ worth of trash that lies so close to residential areas could take months, or even years, but Flores believes that education is the key to making a lasting impact.
“I think just going out with the public events and showing people and actually showing stats on the mosquitoes, on the disease they bring, and showing people how close it is to home. I mean, it’s an issue that has to be addressed,” Flores said. “I think once they see it and realize it, it’ll open some eyes.”
Desert Rescue 915 represents Flores’ hope for a cleaner, safer desert — one where the land is respected, and future generations can enjoy its beauty without the threat of pollution.
If you are interested in learning more about this initiative, visit @Desertrescue915 on Instagram.
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