Firefighters make progress Sunday on New Mexico wildfires
Apr. 25—It was another day of heartbreak for wildfire evacuees and tireless toiling for responders, but hope finally appeared on Northern New Mexico's horizon Sunday.
"Tremendous progress today," Carl Schwope, incident commander for the operations team managing the merged, 54,004-acre Calf Canyon and Hermits Peak fires, said during a livestreamed update Sunday evening. He added after waiting for resources Saturday, firefighters had a "full suite" available Sunday.
Among the new equipment is a pair of aircraft equipped to dive into water, scoop it up and drop it on fire, operations sections chief Jayson Coil said Sunday evening. Two more such aircraft are expected to arrive and they'll extract water from Lake Isabel, he said.
He described them as air tankers the size of small commercial airplanes, able to carry up to 2,000 gallons of water each.
Help also has been arriving in the form of better weather, National Weather Service meteorologist Bladen Breitreiter said during a separate online update earlier Sunday.
Conditions had moderated near the combined fire and a cold front was headed in Sunday night, they said.
"It's going to drop temperatures just a few degrees compared to what we've already seen, and thankfully it's not going to have a bunch of gusty winds behind it," Breitreiter said, saying snow or slush along the northern fire perimeter was possible overnight Sunday.
Among the key concerns Saturday was the combined blaze crossing N.M. 518. As of a day later, that wasn't expected to happen, Coil said.
With a map behind him, Coil pointed to areas in "Go," or mandatory evacuation, status. He said 4,989 structures were in areas under "Go" status and many of them likely are inhabited by multiple people, making it difficult to estimate how many residents are affected.
San Miguel County Sheriff Chris Lopez said during the briefing there's still a lot of unburned fuel in areas near the fire.
"I know we're getting a lot of calls where people are wanting to get in" and see their property, retrieve medications or check on animals, he said.
Lopez said some residents had attempted to get past checkpoints on N.M. 518 and a few had succeeded.
"There's a lot of destruction, damage, downed power lines," he said. "We have to make it safe for people to be allowed back in. Please understand that."
Mora County Undersheriff Americk Padilla spoke after Lopez during the briefing.
"I just came in from Mora County now, checking all the roads and that everything was functioning properly," he said, adding, "Everything is going like a fine-tuned fiddle right now. Praise God; I couldn't ask for any more right now."
Also during the briefing, Schwope said the operations team has received resources from around the United States to battle the merged blaze, which had a perimeter of more than 180 miles.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, 478 personnel were working on the combined fire, which was 12 percent contained Sunday.
Power remained off for safety reasons in Pendaries, Rociada, Manuelitas and Cañoncito and along County Road A-3A, according to a news release from the operations team. Several roads remained closed, including N.M. 518 from Sapello to Buena Vista.
The combined fire isn't the only major source of smoke north of Las Vegas; about 45 miles north of the city, the Cooks Peak Fire had burned 51,982 acres as of Sunday, according to an update on the New Mexico Fire Information website.
The fire north of Ocate remained zero percent contained, the update states, adding reduced winds and a weak cold front were expected. An estimate on damage wasn't yet available.
A community meeting about the Cooks Peak Fire is set for 7 p.m. Monday at the Wagon Mound High School gym, at 300 Park Ave. in Wagon Mound.
In Colfax County, mandatory evacuation orders were in place for Sweetwater, Rayado, Philmont Scout Ranch and Sunnyside. Miami was removed from the list Sunday afternoon. In Mora County, they were in place for Los LeFebres and Los Huerros, and residents east of County Road 009 and north of N.M. 120.
Evacuation centers are set up at Memorial Middle School, 947 Old National Road, Las Vegas; Colfax County Fairgrounds, 16 Airport Road, Springer; and the Raton Convention Center, 901 S. Third St., Raton.
In other fire news Sunday, according to the New Mexico Fire Information website and Facebook updates:
About 7 miles east of Jemez Springs, the Cerro Pelado Fire was at 3,445 acres and zero percent containment. The response included 46 personnel, nine engines, two bulldozers, one small helicopter and two large helicopters. Sierra Los Piños and Cochiti Mesa remained evacuated Sunday, and a shelter was operating at Jemez Mountain Baptist Church, 6 Riverview Court. N.M. 4 was closed from N.M. 126 to N.M. 501.
In Harding County, the Mitchell Fire on private land east of Mosquero on N.M. 39 was estimated at 25,000 acres and was 10 percent contained. It has crossed two boundaries, one of them a road south of Bueyeros. No structures were threatened, and there had been no evacuations.
In Taos County, the Osha Fire off N.M. 518 east of Peñasco was about 5 acres and 50 percent contained.
In the Santa Fe National Forest, Stage 2 fire restrictions remained in effect. They prohibit building fires, smoking except within an enclosed vehicle or building, and other activities. For a list, visit fs.usda.gov/santafe.
