Expected winds Friday bad news for Northern New Mexico wildfires

Apr. 29—Despite a passing storm whipping up some strong gusts Wednesday afternoon, crews made headway on Northern New Mexico's largest and most ravenous wildfire, which has destroyed more than 200 structures northwest of Las Vegas, N.M.

Teams on the ground worked diligently through Wednesday night to combat the Calf Canyon and Hermits Peak Fire, which had burned 63,720 acres by Thursday — a moderate increase from the previous day — and was 33 percent contained.

With this blaze and others in the region, fire managers have said they want to make as much progress as possible on improving containment lines, dousing structures and beating back flames ahead of stronger winds forecast to reach 45 mph Friday, with gusts up to 60 mph.

When wind-fanned flames reach heights of more than 5 feet, crews can no longer attack the fire aggressively at its edges and must move farther away to a more defensive posture, said Mike Johnson, a spokesman for the incident management team overseeing the Calf Canyon and Hermits Peak Fire.

"At some point it becomes unsafe for us to do any direct fire suppression," Johnson said.

High winds also prevent aircraft from making water drops that help cool the fire and allow ground crews to push in closer to build tighter containment lines, Johnson said.

All aircraft, except a reconnaissance plane conducting infrared scans on the fire, were grounded Wednesday afternoon because of blustery conditions. On Thursday morning, four planes and nine helicopters were in the air, dousing the fire as much as possible before winds, forecast to strengthen, could ground them again.

Total personnel fighting the fire grew to 936 from the 730 who were at the scene Monday.

Northern New Mexico was expected to get winds picking up at sunrise Friday to more than 40 mph near the fires, said Jennifer Shoemake, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Albuquerque.

Friday afternoon, the gusts are expected peak at 50 mph to 60 mph, while humidity remains in the 10 percent range, increasing the fire hazards, Shoemake said.

Fire managers gave dire warnings Thursday about the upcoming weather at a livestreamed forum on Facebook.

They worry that the fearsome winds could cause the Calf Canyon and Hermits Peak Fire to jump the northern control lines, threatening residential areas.

"Ledoux is the area of most concern," said Jason Coil, an operations section chief for a Southwest incident management team. "If [the fire] continues to move to the northeast, it has the potential of impacting structures. And the next two days of weather are unfavorable."

Low humidity combined with extremely dry debris, grasses, pine needles and other fuels create a high probability of a new fire igniting — which fierce winds could stoke and swiftly spread, said Stewart Turner, fire behavior specialist for the incident management team.

"It's a very, very dangerous fire day tomorrow," Turner said.

Turner and other officials urged people to heed evacuation orders — and to be ready to leave quickly.

"Be prepared, pack your bags," Mora County Undersheriff Rick Padilla said. "We don't know what's going to happen."

Dry, windier conditions may have contributed to two new fires Thursday afternoon.

One was the Freelove Fire, a 3-acre blaze on the western edge of Valles Caldera National Preserve, near Sulphur Creek Road. The fire was named after Freelove Canyon and ignited in the burn scar of the 2013 Thompson Ridge Fire.

Dave Krueger, a spokesman for Valles Caldera, said the fire will be much less of a problem if it stays in the burn scar. But if it spreads to the east side of the road, it could ignite slash piles, which could spark spot fires, he said.

A load of retardant was dropped on the Freelove Fire, and a helicopter was diverted from the Cerro Pelado Fire to make water drops.

Quite a few personnel have been deployed with the aim of stamping it out as quickly as possible to avoid a second large wildfire in the Jemez Springs area, said Julie Anne Overton, a spokeswoman for the Santa Fe National Forest.

The Cerro Pelado Fire started last week seven miles east of Jemez Springs.

That fire had eased enough for officials to lift evacuations Thursday for the Sierra de los Pinos and Cochiti Mesa communities and to open N.M. 4 to local traffic.

But officials warned that, given the unpredictability of the fire and the weather, residents should remain ready to evacuate again if necessary.

Meanwhile, a 10-acre wildfire was reported on Alamo Navajo Indian Reservation, about four miles east of Alamo and 33 miles north of Magdalena. State and federal fire teams responded.

About 46 miles north of Las Vegas, the stiffer winds that blew in Wednesday created a stalemate between crews and the Cooks Peak Fire, with the teams neither gaining nor losing much ground that day. The fire had charred 55,886 acres and was 34 percent contained Thursday.

In Ruidoso, the McBride Fire, which destroyed 207 homes and was 95 percent contained Thursday, while the accompanying Nogal Canyon Fire was fully contained.

The Northern New Mexico fires have forced at least several thousand residents to evacuate.

State Rep. Roger Montoya, D-Velarde, announced Thursday he was suspending campaign activities to concentrate on the wildfire relief efforts in Mora County, including evacuation support and providing food and other supplies to residents.

"The wildfires in Mora are reaching catastrophic levels," Montoya said in a statement. "The most important thing I can do to serve my constituents at this time is to work with the Department of Homeland Security and the Governor's Office to ensure everybody who is ordered to evacuate can do so safely. And they have the food and supplies they need."