Three newer wildfires fed by winds as older blazes near containment
Apr. 21—As New Mexico's wildfire season begins, attention has rapidly shifted from one devastating blaze to the next potentially damaging fire as crews face nonstop demand.
As crews were gaining control of three destructive fires that ignited two weeks ago, three fresh wildfires flared up this week, stoked by intense spring winds.
The Calf Canyon Fire, which sparked Tuesday about three miles west of the Hermits Peak Fire, has burned 150 acres and remained uncontained, said Julie Anne Overton, a spokeswoman for the Santa Fe National Forest.
Although it's a relatively small fire, the strong winds coupled with dry debris could cause it to spread quickly, so the incident management team handling the Hermits Peak Fire has taken charge of this one, Overton said.
Seventy-five personnel were at the scene battling the blaze, Overton said. However, aircraft were unable to fly in the fierce winds, limiting the firefighting efforts to the ground, she said.
Farther north, the Cooks Peak Fire that started Sunday in Mora County near Ocate grew to 8,000 acres and was uncontained Wednesday as it burned through Ponderosa pines, oak brush and grass.
High winds, low humidity and dry conditions from the ongoing drought are driving the fire, said Wendy Mason, state Forestry Division spokeswoman.
"It is extremely active," Mason said. "It's an emerging incident. It's changing rapidly."
Ocate and areas along County Road 009 have been evacuated. Residents in Sweetwater, Rayado, Sunnyside and Miami were on alert Wednesday.
People can take shelter in Memorial Middle School in Las Vegas, Wagon Mound Public Schools and Mora Schools.
Winds in the northeast were expected to let up overnight through Thursday but intensify again Friday, said Annette Mokry, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.
The winds will ease to 10 mph to 20 mph Thursday, though there still will be a red flag warning for the northeastern area, Mokry said.
On Friday, the winds are forecast to blow 30 mph to 40 mph with gusts as strong as 60 mph, she said.
"It looks as though the winds could be very strong to damaging," Mokry said.
The Hermits Peak Fire, which has burned 7,573 acres northwest of Las Vegas, N.M., was 81 percent contained. Despite high overnight winds Tuesday, crews prevented the fire from spreading, Overton said.
"All of the containment lines are holding," she said.
The McBride Fire, which burned 207 homes and killed two people in Ruidoso, was 89 percent contained, and the nearby Nogal Canyon Fire was 77 percent contained, said Lincoln National Forest spokeswoman Laura Rabon.
The two fires have scorched a combined 6,571 acres.
"Things are looking really good today," Rabon said. "Crews are doing mop-up work."
In Valencia County, a wildfire flared up Wednesday as crews were vanquishing a pesky, two-week-old blaze.
Both fires were sparked in the bosque and spread on both sides of the Rio Grande.
The Simona Fire had burned 80 acres near Jarales Road and was uncontained.
State, county and community fire crews were on the scene, and voluntary evacuations were underway.
A Bernalillo County sheriff's helicopter was dropping water on the flames.
In nearby Belen, the Big Hole Fire, which has torched almost 900 acres, was 89 percent contained and is expected to be fully under control by the weekend, Valencia County Fire Chief Matt Propp said.
The fire has burned one home and 18 other structures, such as barns and storage sheds, Propp said.
"The only reason it's taken a little bit of time is because of how sporadic the fire was," Propp said. "We're having to get to each individual pocket of fire to make sure we have everything contained."
