Wind, drought combine to make wildfires unstoppable

The flames of a northern New Mexico wildfire have become unstoppable as the largest blaze in the U.S. burns trees sucked dry of moisture over decades of drought amid a forecast Thursday of more winds expected to fan the blaze, according to wildfire fighting managers.

From New Mexico to Colorado and parts of the Midwest, forecasters Thursday issued red flag warnings of extreme wildfire danger because of low humidity levels, erratic winds and warm temperatures. The same combination of weather conditions have contributed over the last month to much worse than normal spring wildfires in the U.S.

In New Mexico, the fastest-moving flames in the southern foothills of the Rocky Mountains were headed northeast and away from the area’s biggest population center of Taos, a popular tourist destination 40 miles south of the state line with Colorado.