TAOS, New York, May 27 (Reuters) – Two fires that escalated into New Mexico’s largest wildfire were launched by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the agency said Friday, prompting the governor to ask the federal government. government to take full responsibility for the disaster.
Investigators from the Forest Service found that the fire in Calf Canyon was caused by a “burned pile” of branches that the agency believed had been removed but re-ignited on April 19, according to a statement from the Santa Fe National Forest.
The blaze on April 22 merged with the Hermits Peak fire, which the USFS started with a controlled burn that went out of control on April 6, the agency said earlier.
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The combined fire has so far burned more than 312,320 acres (126,319 hectares) of mountain forests and valleys, an area approaching the size of larger London, and destroyed hundreds of homes.
“The pain and suffering of the new Mexicans caused by the actions of the US Forest Service – an agency that aims to manage our lands – is inexplicable,” New Mexico Gov. Michel Lujan Grisham said in a statement.
Lucan Grisham said the USFS investigation was a step towards the federal government taking full responsibility for the destruction of property, the resettlement of tens of thousands of residents and millions of government spending caused by the fire.
“The Santa Fe National Forest is 100 percent focused on fighting these fires,” SFNF supervisor Debbie Cress said in a statement.
Burning on a trail more than 40 miles (64 km) up in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the fire destroyed watersheds and forests used for centuries by Indo-Spanish farmers and local American communities.
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Report by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Edited by Sandra Mahler
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