Massive blaze races closer to rural northern resort towns

The largest wildfire burning in the United States was heading toward mountain resort towns in northern New Mexico on Wednesday, prompting officials to issue another set of warnings for more people to prepare to evacuate as the fast-moving fire picked up momentum.

Fire officials said the blaze was racing up slopes and along exposed ridge lines while tossing embers into the air that were carried ahead of the fire by gusts. After growing more than 50 square miles in a single day, the fire now has charred more than 370 square miles of tinder-dry forest since it started last month.

The towering plume of smoke created by the raging wildfire could be seen hundreds of miles away, but for the well-known tourist enclave of Taos, it was more unnerving.

The fire already has burned through a forested landscape held sacred by its rural residents, many losing homes that have been in their families for generations.