Mar. 25—As thousands of people prepare to make the annual spiritual trek to El Santuario de Chimayó, local law enforcement agencies and emergency responders say growing interest in the Good Friday event requires more planning and coordination than ever.

The Holy Week pilgrimage has gained widespread national prominence in recent years, appearing in the news and on social media, Santa Fe County Emergency Management Coordinator Ignacio Dominguez said, which has led to more people from around the country descending on Northern New Mexico.

The tradition is expected to draw more than 300,000 pilgrims this week, he said, many of whom will be walking some part of a route from Santa Fe that goes along U.S. 84/285, across N.M. 503 and up County Road 98 to the santuario.

During the peak hours of the pilgrimage Friday, when the tiny community and surrounding roads will be congested with many thousands of people, Dominguez said, he will be posted at the Chimayó Volunteer Fire Department just down the road from the santuario. Many county employees and community groups will be stationed along the way, he added.

The county will operate a center in Pojoaque to serve as a public information hub in case of an emergency, and it will staff medic stations with nurses throughout the route with all-terrain vehicles.

Pilgrims who will walk the route to Chimayó from Santa Fe or Nambé are encouraged to take the preferred route provided by Santa Fe County, with off-highway stretches, where police and other emergency workers will focus their patrols, and facilities such as restrooms and water stations will be available.

Dominguez said walkers should have a communication plan in place with friends or family.

“It’s important to remember that when you get into that valley, there is not necessarily good, reliable cell service,” Dominguez said. “If you turn off onto N.M. 503 from U.S. 285 during the peak of the pilgrimage Friday, it will take you roughly two and a half to three hours to get to the church.”

Preparations for the pilgrimage should include a planned route, check-in locations and arranged pickup and drop-off points, he said.

Dominguez recommended people consider taking the North Central Regional Transit District’s special Blue Bus Santuario Express line, Route 151, which will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, offering free service from Española to the Cities of Gold stop in Pojoaque, and then on to Chimayó.

As pilgrims begin the trek, walking day and night along the roadways leading to Chimayó, the Rio Arriba County and Santa Fe County sheriff’s offices will staff more deputies on patrols to ensure safety.

They will receive some help from the Santa Fe Police Department and Los Alamos Police Department, said Maj. Lorenzo Aguilar, a spokesman for the Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office.

Aguilar said Rio Arriba deputies will be focused on County Road 76, which runs from Española through Chimayó and beyond, to Truchas and Picuris Pueblo. The agency will even have bicycle teams on the stretch.

Rio Arriba County officials noticed the numbers of Holy Week pilgrims began to grow, particularly on County Road 76, after COVID-19 restrictions on the event were lifted in 2022, Aguilar said.

Santa Fe County deputies will be passing out glow sticks to those making the journey at night, spokeswoman Denise Womack-Avila said, adding extra deputies will be out “in force” Thursday and Friday, saturating the route and “looking for speeders, aggressive, distracted and impaired drivers.”

The agency also will set up a DWI checkpoint along the route, she said.

Both sheriff’s offices recently posted messages on their social media accounts encouraging pilgrims to wear reflective clothing and to prepare for their hike. They also encouraged drivers to exercise extra caution along roads in the area and to be ready for speed limit changes as well as limitations on driving routes and parking.

The Santa Fe County sheriff’s office and fire department will fully staff a “joint information center” at the Pojoaque Fire Station on Friday and have workers on call Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, according to a news release.

The initiative is “to create a central location for partner agencies to coordinate public information and a forum for news media outlets in case of an incident, disaster, or emergency,” the news release states.

“If an incident were to occur on the walk, people should feel confident that public safety is fully equipped to respond,” county spokeswoman Olivia Romo said.