State deploys mobile dispatch ahead of internationally renowned event
CHIMAYÓ, N.M. — Tens of thousands of pilgrims will gather in Chimayó this Good Friday, where public safety teams will rely on a mobile command setup to strengthen coordination and response.
New Mexico Department of Information Technology (DoIT) technicians deployed Wednesday and will be supporting the system throughout the pilgrimage, equipping a Santa Fe County Fire Department command vehicle with laptops running dispatch software, audio interface modules, and connectivity.
“Typically, public safety dispatch is pretty much locked to a dispatch center,” said Chris Perez, DoIT Public Safety Network Operations Center manager, who has served the department for more than a decade. “But we use a VPN that goes to our core, and we can provide an outside-the-radio-network interface.”
The setup enables seamless interoperability among local, state, and federal agencies — a cornerstone of DoIT’s approach to large-scale events. DoIT has deployed similar configurations at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the New Mexico State Fair, Zozobra, and in response to the state’s most significant wildfires.
“I want to commend our team for their dedication to public safety during this historic pilgrimage,” said DoIT Secretary Manny Barreras. “Their expertise ensures responders have the tools and connectivity they need to protect the community.”
For Ashley Woods, a team leader at the Santa Fe Regional Emergency Communications Center with 13 years of experience, the mobile setup represents a meaningful shift in how dispatchers can serve the public.
“In previous years, we’ve done everything out of the main dispatch center,” Woods said. “This takes any extra off of the floor staff and brings it here, so our dispatchers working here can concentrate here — and the dispatchers on the floor can be completely devoted to Santa Fe County. It’s just safer for everybody.”
Woods, who has worked the pilgrimage for the past three years, emphasized how much DoIT’s mobile technology matters when seconds count.
“I’ve done dispatching on mobile command with paper and pen, and it’s just impossible,” she said. “Having the computer, being able to use the mapping, and having clear radios makes a huge difference. Those little things, when they add up, are really, really stressful — so having all of this, it’s great.”
DoIT’s Public Safety Network Operations Center team, which includes network engineers available around the clock every day of the year, remains on call throughout the pilgrimage to address any system issues in real time.
“It’s a pretty powerful event,” Woods said. “It’s not even right to call it an event — it’s a pilgrimage, and it’s just amazing to see the faith of these people walking.”
