San Miguel County wildfire causes United World College to evacuate
Apr. 25—A wildfire near Las Vegas, N.M., caused students and staff at a boarding school to evacuate after the flames came within two miles of campus.
The Peterson Fire grew to 30 acres Saturday and is 10 percent contained, according to the state Forestry Division.
United World College in Montezuma was evacuated around 2 p.m. Friday as firefighters and a helicopter carrying up to 100 gallons of water doused spot fires along N.M. 65 in San Miguel County. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
"We got an email saying, 'Take all your belongings as if you weren't coming back to campus,' " freshman Sahara Sky said. "Given how everything has gone this year from coming to campus late to quarantining to wearing masks, I think we all sort of expected not to come back for the rest of the year."
School President Victoria Mora said around 200 students and 50 staff members were evacuated.
Students spent the night on cots at the Abe Montoya Recreation Center in Las Vegas. The dance team and choirs provided entertainment, and everyone returned to campus around 8:30 a.m. Saturday. There was no damage to the school, Mora said.
"When the winds really get going and whipping around, it's pretty unnerving," Mora said. "We've always known the most likely emergency we would deal with would be a wildfire."
Firefighters camped on campus overnight and have been using the soccer field as a takeoff and landing spot for helicopters, Mora said.
Nearly 70 firefighters responded to the blaze, including crews from the Forestry Division Las Vegas District, the San Miguel County Fire Department, the Santa Fe Hotshots and local volunteer fire departments.
