Wind-whipped fire forces more New Mexico residents to flee
Wind-whipped flames raced across more of New Mexico’s pine-covered mountainsides on Monday, forcing more residents to flee their homes and the evacuation of the state’s psychiatric hospital. Firefighting crews elsewhere in the drought-parched state tried to prevent new wildfires from growing.
The blaze burning in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains near the small northeastern New Mexico city of Las Vegas is the biggest wildfire in the U.S. and has charred more than 188 square miles. Fire officials said they expect it to keep growing, putting the fire on track to be one of the most destructive in the state’s recorded history.
“Winds are changing constantly and those, combined with low humidity and high temperatures keep the fire spreading at dangerous speeds and in different directions,” officials warned in a fire update. “Over the next two weeks, the majority of our days are listed as red flag days, with high winds, which will continue to make suppression efforts difficult.”
State health officials said they began evacuating all 197 patients at the Behavioral Health Institute early Monday due to the fast-moving fire. Patients were being sent to other facilities around the state, with some being transported in secured units and others escorted by police.
About 200 students from the United World College also have evacuated to a shelter outside of Santa Fe. Most of the students who attend the school are from other counties.
The fire has been fanned by an extended period of hot, dry and windy conditions and ballooned in size Sunday, prompting authorities to issue new evacuation orders for the small town of Mora and other villages.
Residents in some outlying neighborhoods of Las Vegas, population about 13,000, were put on notice to be ready to leave their homes as thick smoke choked the economic hub for the farming and ranching families who have lived for generations in the rural region. It’s also home to New Mexico Highlands University and is one of the most populated stops along Interstate 25 before the Colorado state line.
“We are working hard around the clock to make sure all the services are ready for the public,” Las Vegas Mayor Louie Trujillo said at an emergency meeting Sunday, noting that winds were expected to push the fire closer to the city on Monday.
Operations Section Chief Todd Abel said Monday that crews were busy using bulldozers to build fire lines to keep the flames from pushing into neighborhoods.