TAO, New Mexico, May 1 (Reuters) – Thousands of villagers in northern New Mexico were ordered to evacuate on Sunday as fierce winds brought the largest active wildfire in the United States to their arid mountain valley.
Gusts of more than 40 miles per hour (64 km / h) blew embers miles before the flames to start new fires as crews struggled to stop the flames entering Mora, about 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Santa Fe.
It is one of a series of agricultural communities on the path to the Calf Canyon fire, the most devastating of a dozen southwestern fires that scientists say are more prevalent and arrive earlier this year due to climate change.
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
I’m registering
– Where should we run, where should we go? said Darlene Gallegos, co-owner and manager of the local Mora Producers Market, the last grocery store to remain open in the agricultural community of about 1,000 people.
Twenty miles south, at the other end of the 104,000-acre megafire (42,100 acres), residents of Las Vegas, New Mexico, had to prepare for an evacuation as winds brought the fire within 5 miles of homes nearby. to Interstate 25, according to local officials.
Crews have bulldozed firebreaks west and north of the historic Old West city of 14,000 to protect ranches, country houses and the United World College in the village of Montezuma, firefighter Todd Abel told a briefing.
“We’re just clenching our teeth, thousands of people will be affected,” said San Miguel County Deputy Governor Jesus Romero as the ashes swirled around his home in southern Las Vegas.
Asked if the entire city would be told to evacuate, Romero said it could happen on Monday, when winds are expected to move and blow east.
Burning on April 6, about 30 miles east of Santa Fe, the fire destroyed more than 300 properties and forced the evacuation of dozens of villages and settlements in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
I’m registering
Report by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Edited by Will Dunham and Marguerite Choi
Our standards: Thomson Reuters’ principles of trust.
Add Comment