Reuters. 150 homes evacuated due to wildfire in New Mexico
World PressA wildfire caused by a downed power line in New Mexico's rugged Pecos wilderness has forced the evacuation of 150 homes and consumed 5,300 acres of forest in the grip of a historic drought, officials said on Saturday.
The Tres Lagunas fire, New Mexico's first major blaze of the dry season, started on Thursday and was zero percent contained by midday on Saturday. Hot temperatures, extreme dry conditions and wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour whipped the flames through steep mountainous terrain, said U.S. Forest Service fire information officer Iris Estes.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 98 percent of New Mexico had severe drought conditions, with 44 percent in exceptional drought, the highest rating available.
"This is a historic drought. We haven't seen a drought like this since the 1950s," said Dan Ware with New Mexico's State Forestry agency.
Fire threatened homes along Highway 63, and about 150 houses, both full-time and seasonal residences, had been evacuated. About 300 emergency personnel, including five crews of specialized firefighters, were on the scene, with more expected to arrive as the blaze grew, Estes said.
On Friday, Governor Susana Martinez declared a state of emergency in San Miguel County.
Fire officials conducted an infrared assessment flight on late Friday. Early estimates of 2,000 acres were adjusted to 5,300 acres of Ponderosa pine forest burned.
Farther east in Santa Fe, a second blaze was ignited on Friday in the Santa Fe National Forest, and had encroached on the Valles