Some 25,000 New Mexicans were without natural gas after a freeze in west Texas led to rolling power outages that interrupted electricity to natural-gas compressor stations.

"We had natural-gas supplies," said Monica Hussey, spokeswoman for New Mexico Gas Company. "But we couldn't get the supply on hand out of storage and to customers because it needs to go through compressor stations."

Towns without natural-gas service included Española, Taos, Questa, Red River, the town of Bernalillo, Tularosa, La Luz, Placitas, Santa Clara Pueblo, Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, Alamogordo, Silver City and San Ildefonso Pueblo. Many were expected to remain without natural gas through today while crews struggled to re-pressurize the lines. Town emergency personnel and officials worked to set up emergency shelters, and residents rushed to stores to buy food, gasoline and other supplies.

Gov. Susana Martinez declared a state of emergency and sent home all nonessential employees from state offices Thursday afternoon so thermostats could be lowered. All state museums in Santa Fe will be closed today.

Santa Fe Public Schools canceled all after-school activities, and schools will be closed today. Many other private and government offices closed early in order to lower the heat.

Santa Fe's low of minus 18 degrees early Thursday shattered the daily record of minus 7 set in 1956 at the Santa Fe Municipal Airport and tied the all-time low of minus 18 in 1963, based on Weather Service data. Meteorologists predicted a low of 4 degrees Thursday night with a high today of 32 in Santa Fe.

Rush on supplies

A rush on heaters and heat tape in Santa Fe, Española and Taos drained the supplies of many stores.

"We are out of all our heaters, electric, propane and kerosene, but we're expecting a shipment Saturday," said Ron C de Baca, president of Big Jo True Value Hardware on Siler Road in Santa Fe.

He said the store had been crowded all day. "We haven't had much of a winter. We hadn't been selling these items much until Wednesday," C de Baca said. "We've learned to anticipate though, so our supply lasted a day and a half."

Ace Hardware also sold out of electric heaters but was expecting a shipment today.

Public services impacted

Santa Fe County Sheriff Robert Garcia was down in his well house Thursday evening dealing with the same issue many well owners and city residents grappled with — frozen water pipes. He said his house had power surges every 15 minutes, but he had water until 6:15 a.m. and then nothing. By 3:21 p.m., with the help of space heaters and lights, he was getting a trickle.

Even before state employees were sent home, some experienced uncomfortably cold indoor weather. One employee said it was 57 degrees in his office at the Public Regulation Commission.

A General Services Department spokeswoman said two pipes had leaks at the Wendell Chino Building. Both were repaired Thursday, but employees reported having to walk to the Manuel Lujan Sr. building to use the restroom.

Natural-gas service at the Monica Roybal Youth Center and the Carlos Ortega Teen Center was disrupted, leaving both facilities without heat. The facilities were warm enough to remain open regular hours but will be closed today.

The city's bus fleet, powered by compressed natural gas, completed routes Thursday. "We're running tonight," said Jon Bulthius, director of Santa Fe Trails, Thursday evening. "We're keeping our fingers crossed for tomorrow."

He said they have some contingency regular gas-powered vans in case natural-gas supplies run low. "We're going to do the best job we can to keep service uninterrupted," he said. "But people should call before they head out to bus stops to make sure all the buses are running."

Volunteers aid animals

In Española, animal shelter staff put out an emergency call for help after the facility lost power and water. By Thursday afternoon, volunteers had stepped forward to offer temporary foster care to 96 dogs and cats, according to Nina Chiotasso, manager of the Española Valley Humane Society and Animal Shelter. Animals on quarantine remained at the shelter. People donated several space heaters by the evening, and the staff had been asked to stay open in case residents without heat needed to leave their pets while they sought emergency shelter. "Our challenge moving forward is to have blankets and bottled water to take care of any animals still here or that come in," Chiotasso said.

Bitter chills in the north

 The low in Taos hit minus 26 degrees Thursday, missing the all-time low by one degree. New Mexico Gas officials alerted the town of Taos around 10 a.m. Thursday that natural gas would be shut off to Taos, Questa and Red River due to the decline in pipeline pressures. Taos Valley residents lined up at grocery stores, gas stations and hardware stores to buy food and emergency supplies in preparation for another day without gas.

New Mexico Gas crews went house to house in Questa, Red River, Taos and Española turning off meters. Meters must be turned off before natural gas can be re-pressurized safely in the lines, according to the company and Taos officials. It could be Saturday before all households and businesses in Taos County have natural gas again. At about 4 p.m. Thursday, officials said it would take 24 hours to turn off all the meters and another day to re-pressurize and turn meters back on.

Taos residents who had no alternate source of heat were sent to emergency shelters.

Some hotels that still had heat offered discount rates, and Graham's Grill planned to serve hot food for free from 3-6 p.m. today. But town of Taos Mayor Darren Cordova also heard some businesses were price gouging and urged them not to take advantage of the difficult circumstances, according to an official statement.

As people sought electric alternatives for heat, Taos power supplies were strained. Kit Carson Electric reported a 60 percent increase in usage.

Texas blackouts roll in New Mexico

 The cold front that descended on New Mexico beginning Tuesday also walloped Texas, causing rolling power blackouts across the state. Most of Texas is on an electric grid separate from the rest of the Western grid, but some of it still powers compressor stations necessary to move natural gas through hundreds of miles of pipeline into New Mexico. In addition, El Paso Electric, which is connected to the Western grid and New Mexico, had two of four power-generating stations down, according to company statements and news reports. The company, serving West Texas, also had rolling blackouts for its customers Wednesday.

The intermittent power supply made it tough for New Mexico Gas to keep gas pressurized in the pipeline system, Hussey said. In addition, the freezing temperatures caused a spike in demand by customers across the state, draining existing gas in the lines. As the pressure declined, the gas couldn't reach the farthest towns in the north with enough volume, Hussey said. "Taos and those areas are the end of the line," Hussey said. "The gas just couldn't reach."

And to preserve what pressure was left, crews began shutting down meters.

New Mexico is a prime natural-gas producer and is ranked fourth nationally.

Reporter Kate Nash contributed to this report.

Contact Staci Matlock at 986-3055 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.