Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Larry Smith, public information for Southwest Incident Management Team 5, and basecamp caterers Jack Carpenter and Slaton Owens watch on Saturday as ponderosa pines explode into flames while the Cooks Peak Fire expands past a firefighting base camp in Ocate, west of Wagon Mound.
SANTA FE - With wildfires igniting around New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called on state residents to heed evacuation orders and brace for a long fire season.
In a weekend briefing, the governor said there were 20 active wildfires burning in 16 different counties around New Mexico - or in nearly half the state's 33 counties.
"It is only April and yet we are seeing fire spread ... that we have only ever seen in late May or June," Lujan Grisham told reporters.
She also said dry conditions and ferocious winds - gusts in excess of 90 mph were recorded at the top of Kachina Peak at Taos Ski Valley - had created an "unprecedented" day of fire activity on Friday.
While winds were slightly slower and temperatures lower on Saturday, the governor said the fire danger would likely continue to be omnipresent.
"We are cognizant this is going to be a tough, long week and I want New Mexicans to be prepared for that," Lujan Grisham said.
The Cooks Peak Fire, 46 miles north of Las Vegas, was the state's largest, and had grown to nearly 50,000 acres across mostly sparsely populated rangeland in Mora and Colfax counties. Fire officials at a base camp in Ocate said they are hopeful that the blaze, which began April 17, could be contained by May 7.
In all, the governor said more than 1,000 firefighters were working to battle blazes across the state, including crews from other states.
With several fires growing rapidly, Lujan Grisham said she spoke with White House officials Saturday about the possibility of getting emergency federal aid and expressed concern about the possibility of severe fire damage to New Mexico watersheds.
But the governor said her primary focus was on saving lives.
"I don't want to minimize how dangerous the situation is and how dramatic it is," Lujan Grisham said.
"We need people to leave areas that have fire warnings," the governor added. "There's no reason for us to lose anyone because they made the decision to stay despite mandatory evacuation orders."
