NM Calf Canyon Fire At 176,000 Acres, Driven By "Incredible" Winds Of 60 MPH; 13,000 Evacuated
Todd Abel, operations section chief with the Southwest Area Incident Management Team, said Sunday morning that aerial crews were working to contain the fire. But the strength of the winds has grounded many plans and aircraft, according to U.S. Forest Service officials. Winds of 30 to 40 mph, with gusts up to 60 mph, were “incredible” and “precedent setting,” Abel said, adding that they are expected to continue through Monday.
The fire, now more than a month old, has already burned 176,273 acres and is only 21 percent contained, said Mike De Fries, information officer with the Southwest Coordination Center, an interagency group that organizes wildfire response. In late April, it merged with the Hermit’s Peak Fire to the east, a prescribed burn that fire crews lost control of amid strong winds. The cause of the Calf Canyon Fire is under investigation.
More than 1,500 personnel and a large aircraft fleet — including four water scoopers and 12 helicopters — are working feverishly to combat the fierce blaze, which has a perimeter stretching nearly 300 miles. “Right now, we are in this multiday wind event and we have our resources deployed to take on fire in areas where it’s being most aggressive at pushing on the actual perimeter of the fire or threatening communities,” De Fries told The Post on Sunday. “The fire definitely is pushing to grow, and we’re just trying to protect the communities and limit the growth,” he added.
The winds have pushed the fire toward rural communities north of Las Vegas, De Fries said, with more evacuation alerts issued there Sunday afternoon. Las Vegas, the most densely populated area in the fire’s vicinity, has seen some evacuation orders lifted as containment efforts have reduced the threats to that city.
EDIT
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/05/08/new-mexico-wildfires-wind/
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