Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Fire dangers expected to last 'extended period'

Much of New Mexico has been on fire this month, and firefighters continue preaching to anyone who will listen – one spark can set off a massive blaze.

“The grassland wildfires right now just have us on edge,” Clovis Fire Chief Mike Nolen said Tuesday.

“There is no humidity, the fuel loads are all high. As soon as we get a report, we’re throwing everything we’ve got at it. I’m praying for rain every day.”

All around the state, it’s the firefighting equivalent of Whack-a-Mole.

Though crews continued to gain ground on four blazes around the state, firefighters near the northeastern New Mexico village of Ocate now are battling a fifth that grew from about 300 acres to more than 2,200 acres in less than a day.

Precautionary evacuations have been ordered for some rural areas affected by the Cooks Peak Fire, first reported around 4:15 p.m. Sunday, said Wendy Mason, a spokeswoman for the New Mexico Forestry Division.

High winds, some hitting 50 mph, have caused havoc for fire crews battling blazes all around the state.

Those conditions are not likely to abate anytime soon, the National Weather Service of Albuquerque said Monday.

“The stage has been set for critical fire conditions for pretty much an extended period of time,” said meteorologist Daniel Porter during a Monday afternoon media briefing.

He said dry conditions, combined with storm systems that are more likely to bring dust than rain, “have certainly kicked up the wind.”

All it takes is one spark plus high winds, and “things get out of control real quickly,” Porter said.

In Curry and Roosevelt counties so far most of the wildfires have been under 1,000 acres. But the number of fires is concerning.

“Days that hit 80 (degrees) and above, we’re seeing two, three, four fires a day,” Nolen said. “Granted, a lot of that is spot fires and, thankfully, we have some very, very good farming techniques in this county and the grassland is usually bordered by farmland. South of town is where we worry about making long runs.”

Nolen said local firefighters have not been requested for the large fires around the state. “Pretty much most of that has been in the forestry area; we do grassland,” he said. “We could support with tanks and such but they have not asked this time.”

As of Monday afternoon, fire crews were having success containing four fires that have been raging for some time, including the Hermits Peak Fire near Las Vegas, N.M.

That blaze, the result of an April 6 prescribed burn gone awry, was 61 percent contained, said Julie Anne Overton, spokeswoman for the Santa Fe National Forest.

She said firefighters were able to conduct some successful helicopter water drops Monday.

Asked if her agency had yet determined what went wrong with the prescribed burn, Overton replied, “Right now, all efforts are focused on containing this fire as safely and quickly as we can. We will do a post-fire review of exactly what happened and the lessons we can learn.”

The fire encompassed 7,545 acres as of Monday. No one has been hurt in the blaze, and only a few outbuildings have been lost so far.

More than 670 personnel are involved, though Overton said other crew members were sent to the Cooks Peak Fire on Monday.

Firefighters also gained ground on two fires in the southeastern portion of the state and another, the Big Hole Fire, near Belen. The Big Hole Fire remained 80 percent contained as of Monday, said spokeswoman Margie Ferrucci. The cause of that fire, which was at about 890 acres Monday, is still being investigated, she said. About two dozen firefighters were battling the blaze, she said.

The deadly and destructive McBride Fire near Ruidoso was at 80 percent containment, said Mike DeFries spokesman for the Lincoln National Forest.

He said the cause of the fire, which covered 6,159 acres, remains under investigation. More than 430 firefighters are on the scene, he said.

“Over the last couple of days some real good progress has been made,” he said — the result of a combination of firefighters’ efforts and a “day or two without much of a wind issue” in the region over the weekend.

“We are prepared to jump into initial attack mode should another fire break out in this area,” DeFries said.

The McBride Fire led to the deaths of two people, the destruction of 207 homes and the evacuation of about 4,500 people last week.

Officials removed evacuation orders on Sunday.

Robert Nott and The Santa Fe New Mexican contributed to this report.

 
 
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