Two wildfires in southern New Mexico have destroyed 1,400 buildings, burned more than 20,000 acres and forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes, officials said. The blazes remained out of control Tuesday night as firefighters struggled to contain them.
At least one person was killed in Monday's fire, said Michael Coleman, communications director for New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. No additional details were available Tuesday evening.
The larger blaze, the South Fork fire, was spotted about 9 a.m. Monday in the Mescalero Apache Tribal Territory and grew rapidly, creating an “extreme fire pattern,” officials said.
The South Fork fire spread from the Mescalero Apache Reservation onto US Forest Service land and private land. By Tuesday evening, it had destroyed 1,400 structures and covered nearly 15,000 acres, the New Mexico State Forestry Division said in a statement.
A second fire, the Salt Fire, was detected a few miles away Monday afternoon, and as of Tuesday was still primarily on tribal land in remote mountainous terrain, and had grown to about 5,000 acres.
The New Mexico State Forest Division said about 8,000 people had been evacuated from the village of Ruidoso and the surrounding area by Tuesday evening.
Both fires were zero percent contained as of Tuesday evening, and officials were investigating what caused the blazes.
But it was clear that wind and low humidity had fueled the fire, according to New Mexico Fire Information, a website run by federal and state agencies.,
George Ducker, communications coordinator for the New Mexico Forestry Division, said federal, tribal, state and local departments were in an “all hands on deck” situation. He said firefighters were focusing on protecting structures and creating fire lines to prevent the fire from spreading.
Officials said the fire was a case of “long-range sledding,” a process in which embers are carried out by the wind and sometimes ignite new fires. Mr. Ducker said flames were reaching “hundreds of feet in height.”
“It is very hot in the interior areas,” he said.
Evacuees were heading east toward Roswell, N.M. Some roads were closed in other directions because of the fire.
The Red Cross, which opened four shelters in the state to help people fleeing the fires, said it had assisted 270 residents as of Monday night.
Enrique Moreno, founder and director of Roswell Community Disaster Relief, said many people fleeing Ruidoso had parked their vehicles at gas stations, Wal-Marts or other retail parking lots around Roswell until the shelter opened late Monday. In conjunction with Pecos Valley Public Services, Mr. Moreno's group has been connecting evacuees with resources, including food and other supplies.
“This is the biggest disaster we have ever faced,” Mr. Moreno said.
On Tuesday, Governor Grisham declared a state of emergency due to the fire in Lincoln County and the Mescalero Apache Reservation. She said in a post on social media that the declaration authorized funds and resources to combat the crisis.
Aimee Ortiz And Yan Zhuang Explained Contributed reporting.