SANTA FE, N.M. (Washington Insider Magazine) – New Mexico’s governor has requested further federal aid to combat wildfires raging throughout the state’s northern regions, including the state’s 2nd-largest blaze in history, which officials believe has damaged hundreds of houses.
In a letter to President Joe Biden on Friday, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham stated that New Mexico requires greater assistance than is being offered under the president’s latest disaster proclamation.
Since one part of the blaze was kindled by wind-blown embers from a stipulated fire on the Santa Fe National Forest, the governor has said that the required response, which includes a full array of emergency safety precautions and immediate financial support for rubble removal, surpasses the state’s prowess and the federal government should bear 100 percent of the costs.
That fire has now spread to 437 square miles after merging with another. The 5-week-old joint fire endangered the small New Mexico city of Las Vegas for a while before being put out just outside town last Thursday. According to ABC NEWS, fire crews are still working to protect the fire from spreading to other rural areas.
Authorities stated Saturday that low humidity and unfavorable high temperatures were still present, but that reduced smoke had enabled firefighting planes to take to the sky for the 2nd day in a row to combat the inferno.
The fire’s smoke column hit 30,000 feet at one point on Saturday afternoon, raising the risk of it collapsing and causing swirling winds near the ground. According to fire spokesperson Mike De Fries, firefighters along a section of the flame’s western side were advised of the possible hazard.
Wildfires have erupted all across western United States this spring, including Arizona, California, and Colorado. Drought and hot temperatures caused by global warming are exacerbating wildfire dangers in the West, according to forecasts for the remainder of the spring.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, over 2,000 square miles have burned across the country so far this year, the highest since 2018.
According to authorities with the Teller County Sheriff’s Office, a fire blazing southwest of Colorado Springs spread to 1.5 square miles overnight and is now 10% contained.
The wildfire, now dubbed as the High Park Fire, started on Thursday near Cripple Creek, an old mining town. The origin of the fire has yet to be determined.
According to the Teller County Sheriff’s Office, at least 120 individuals from 40 homes had evacuated the area by Thursday evening.
Officials believe the fire might spread further since gusts of up to 35 mph are forecast. Around 2 p.m, the winds are forecast to die down, which could aid firefighting operations.
The greatest wildfire in New Mexico has a 500-mile perimeter, which is greater than the distance between San Diego and San Francisco, and is just 27% controlled. Another wildfire near Los Alamos, to the west, has scorched 71 square miles and is just 23% contained.
The 2 fires are being fought by about 3,000 firemen and other personnel.
The biggest fire, according to fire officials, has burned at least 473 properties, including houses and other structures. On Friday, Lujan Grisham’s administration updated its estimate of 262 houses destroyed, but cautioned that officials have been struggling to safely survey damage in many scorched areas.
In other news, House Republican leaders in New Mexico called on the state to launch a federal probe into how the prescribed fire that caused the deadliest inferno was handled.
