Calf Canyon Fire 2nd-Largest In NM History; 15,000 Homes In/Around Santa Fe Are At Risk
Fanned by relentless winds and fueled by abnormally warm and dry weather, a historically large siege of fires is raging in New Mexico. Yet the state’s fire season still has to peak — and some of the most extreme fire conditions may be coming.
The fires prompted President Biden to declare a major disaster for parts of the state Wednesday so that federal assistance can reach affected residents. The disaster zone includes Mora and San Miguel counties — about 60 miles east of Santa Fe — where the Calf Canyon fire erupted in April. The blaze has since grown to 165,276 acres, New Mexico’s second-largest fire on record.
The Calf Canyon fire is also the largest fire so far this year in the United States. Only 20 percent contained, it has burned hundreds of structures and displaced thousands of people. Residents forced from their homes, many uninsured or underinsured, do not know what they will come back to.
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Erupting much earlier than normal, New Mexico’s blazes have spread swiftly over land parched by extreme drought and seared by higher than normal temperatures. Climate science research links rising temperatures and intensifying droughts to longer, more severe fire seasons, and this year’s conditions may portend a fiery future for not only New Mexico but much of the Southwest. Hot, arid conditions dry out vegetation quickly, making the land surface more combustible.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/05/05/new-mexico-fire-disaster-biden/