New Mexico’s governor on Tuesday asked President Joe Biden to declare a disaster as firefighters scrambled to clear brush, build fire lines and spray water to keep the largest blaze burning in the US from destroying more homes in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
During a briefing on the fire burning across the state’s north-east, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a request for a presidential disaster declaration that will be sent to the White House in hopes of freeing up financial assistance for recovery efforts. She said it was important that the declaration be made on the front end rather than waiting until the fire is out.
“I’m unwilling to wait,” said Lujan Grisham, a first-term Democrat who is running for re-election. “I have 6,000 people evacuated, I have families who don’t know what the next day looks like, I have families who are trying to navigate their children and healthcare resources, figure out their livelihoods and they’re in every single little community and it must feel to them like they are out there on their own.”
She vowed to get them help, but residents in the small north-eastern New Mexico city of Las Vegas were already voicing concerns about grocery stores being closed as some people chose to leave ahead of the flames even though evacuations had not been ordered.
Those from villages in the mountains surrounding the community who had found refuge with family members and at a shelter in Las Vegas were worried they might have to find another place to go if the fierce winds predicted on Wednesday and this weekend push the flames closer to the city.
A battery of fire engines and their crews were busy on Tuesday working to protect homes and other structures on the edge of Las Vegas while bulldozers cleared more fire lines on the outskirts. Air tanker and helicopter pilots took advantage of a break in the thick smoke and falling ash during the early hours to battle the flames from above with fire retardant and water drops.
New Mexico was at the center for the nation’s latest wave of hot, dry and windy weather. Forecasters also issued warnings for parts of Arizona and Colorado, and authorities in Texas urged people there to be careful after crews in that state had to respond to several new fires on Monday.
Authorities in north-eastern New Mexico said the flames were a couple miles from Las Vegas, which serves as an economic hub for most of north-eastern New Mexico, and the ranching and farming families who have called the rural region home for generations. It’s home to the United World College and New Mexico Highlands University.
The blaze has charred 228 sq miles (590 sq km) of mountainsides, towering ponderosa pines and meadows, destroying around 170 homes in its path and forcing the evacuation of the state’s psychiatric hospital in Las Vegas. Schools in the community also canceled classes at least through Wednesday.
The governor said during the briefing that the number of homes destroyed would probably go much higher given the ground that the fire has covered and the villages that it moved through over the past week. Assessments by law enforcement were ongoing.
Wildfires have become a year-round threat in the drought-stricken west and they are moving faster and burning hotter than ever due to the climate crisis, scientists and fire experts say. Fire officials also have said that many forested areas have become overgrown and unhealthy and that the buildup of vegetation can worsen wildfire conditions.
California for example has experienced the eight largest wildfires in state history over the last five years, while a destructive Colorado blaze tore through suburban neighborhoods last December. In the last decade, New Mexico also has seen its largest and most destructive fires.
Nationally, the National Interagency Fire Center reported on Tuesday that a dozen uncontained large fires have burned about 400 sq miles (1,000 sq km) in five states, including New Mexico. Nearly 3,500 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to fires burning across the country.
On the northern flank of the big New Mexico fire, crews were trying to keep the flames from reaching the town of Mora as the winds shifted. State officials urged those residents who have refused to leave the area to reconsider, saying it’s a dangerous situation.
North-east of Las Vegas, on the other side of an interstate, is the Zamora Ranch – a set of corrals, stables and open areas that has served the community as a venue for everything from rodeos to car shows. Now, it’s a place for livestock refugees, including 160 cattle, 50 horses, 70 sheep, 10 goats and a couple of pigs.
“There’s a lot of displaced livestock,” said owner Kenny Zamora, who opened his gates to help the community.
Jose Griego and wife Casey Taylor brought 10 horses and a small donkey to the ranch early on Monday. Each has its own story: one was a wedding gift to the couple. Another is Griego’s go-to horse for rounding up cattle.
“Everything that’s breathing is out, and that’s what matters,” said Taylor, who teaches science in a nearby community.
State livestock inspectors said green flags are flying at the entrances of ranches where livestock are left behind during evacuations so that responders know later.
The fire merged last week with another blaze that was sparked in early April when a prescribed fire set by land managers to reduce fire danger escaped containment. The cause of the other fire remains under investigation.
Lujan Grisham said Tuesday that the federal government bears some responsibility.
Another New Mexico wildfire burning through forested areas to the north-east has forced the evacuations of about 800 homes while charring 92 sq miles (238 sq km).
A separate fire burning in the mountains near Los Alamos national laboratory prompted evacuations over the weekend and other communities were told to get ready to leave if conditions worsen. It has charred more than 39 sq miles (101 sq km) and destroyed at least three homes.
All of the New Mexico fires have been fueled by tinder-dry groves of ponderosa pine.
More than 4,400 sq miles have burned across the US this year.