Forecasters in New Mexico are warning of worsening fire conditions for the next several days, with gusts expected to pick up as firefighters attempt to contain wildfires that have been burning unusually hot and fast for weeks.
Those winds could help the fire spread more quickly, pushing flames into tree canopies or blowing embers.
Winds are expected to be strong through Wednesday, Gary Zell, an incident meteorologist, said during a briefing Sunday.
“We have four really critical days, followed by some breezy days after that,” he said. Other weather systems will continue to bring high winds in the coming weeks, with the pattern not changing until mid-May, he said.
New Mexico has seen more fire damage in the first four months of 2022 than all of last year. Already, 199 fires have burned 187,477 acres in the state this year, according to data from the Southwest Coordination Center. New Mexico officials have warned of a long and dangerous fire season, as it is unusual to have so many fires burning this early in the year.
Gusts as high as 60 mph Friday fueled the severe Calf Canyon and Hermit’s Peak fires, expanding the blaze by more than 30,000 acres in a single day and forcing residents in nearby areas to evacuate. The flames are close to Las Vegas, N.M., a town about 60 miles east of Santa Fe.
Winds were so strong that fire officials said they had to stop using helicopters and planes on Sunday afternoon.
“These environmental conditions are rather extreme,” said Dan Pearson, fire behavior analyst for the U.S. Forest Service-Santa Fe National Forest.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said Sunday evening that her state got a federal firefighting grant for the Calf Canyon blaze, after appealing an earlier denial. New Mexico has already received similar grants — meant to address a “threat of major disaster” — for fires in other areas, she said.
“We will keep fighting for every possible resource,” Lujan Grisham tweeted. She urged residents under evacuation orders to leave without delay.
More than 1,100 firefighters had been deployed to fight those fires. As of Sunday afternoon, the fires had consumed nearly 104,000 acres and were 30 percent contained, according to a government website. Officials deployed multiple scooper planes and helicopters to attempt to further contain the fires.
California, which itself is experiencing a historically severe drought, is deploying firefighters to New Mexico to help contain the blazes.
State Rep. Roger Montoya, a Democrat representing some of the northeast counties affected by the fires, shared images of the destruction and warned that the winds will continue to persist.
FIRE UPDATE (11:50 AM)— The wildfire burning near Mora and Las Vegas NM has grown to over 104,000 acres. Elevated and critical winds will exist into the beginning of the week. Please be aware of any Go! evacuations orders. #HermitsPeakFire #CalfCanyonFire #nmfire pic.twitter.com/PMg0LKY560
— Rep. Roger Montoya (@rogerfornm) May 1, 2022
Other regions in the Southwest and Plains were bracing for similar conditions. The National Weather Service in Pueblo warned of “critical fire weather conditions” Sunday until 9 p.m. across much of south central Colorado.
Rising temperatures from human-induced climate change are increasing the risk of wildfires, scientists have found, as vegetation dries out more quickly and provides more fuel.
Climate Central, a nonprofit science communications organization, reported last year that the number of “fire weather” days has increased in parts of New Mexico, Texas and Southern California since the 1970s. The organization analyzed days with relatively low humidity, hotter temperatures and wind between 1973 and 2020.
Jason Samenow, Pradnya Joshi and Hannah Knowles contributed to this report.
