Firefighting effort 'unscathed' despite weather
May 31—Despite several days of challenging weather, officials said Monday the largest wildfire in New Mexico history has not dramatically worsened and they have been able to get more evacuees back into their homes.
The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak fire in the Las Vegas, N.M., area now stands at 315,223 acres. Crews have maintained 50% containment even through a series of "red flag" days with low relative humidity and strong winds.
"We faced some pretty tough fire conditions the past couple of days and, thus far, it looks like we're going to emerge so far unscathed," incident commander Rick Young said during a community briefing Monday night, thanking the firefighting crews for "working in some pretty arduous conditions to keep us safe."
The fire's relative stability is prompting officials to change from what has been a nightly community briefing via Facebook Live to a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule starting this week.
And improvement along the fire's southwestern edge also allowed authorities to downgrade evacuation orders for the Upper and Lower Colonias and Lower La Posada communities, allowing residents of those areas to return.
But San Miguel County Sheriff Chris Lopez said the fire remains a challenge around Elk Mountain and Bear Creek Canyon.
"They're having some issues in that area, and it's just not safe to put people back in that upper Pecos canyon area yet again until they can get a better handle on it," he said.
Fire behaviorist Joe Hernandez said Tuesday will bring continued challenges with high winds and low humidity but there is a chance for moisture Wednesday through Friday.
"It's going to take us out of the extreme fire behavior, the extreme burning condition and give us a little bit of a respite," he said. "With that, however, we are going to see an increased chance for thunderstorm development."
The Hermits Peak fire began April 6 and subsequently merged with the Calf Canyon fire. Both were caused by U.S. Forest Service burns.
The Black Fire, burning about 31 miles northwest of Truth or Consequences, is now growing faster than Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak.
It stood at 241,403 acres and was 26% contained as of Monday. That's up from 228,311 acres on Sunday and 146,679 acres a week prior.
The fire started May 13 and is now the third-largest wildfire in New Mexico history. The cause remains under investigation.
