ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico, (AP) — Thousands of firefighters continued to slow the spread of destructive wildfires in the southwestern United States, but officials warned they were bracing for a return Friday of the same dangerous conditions that spread flames fanned by winds a week ago.
Flames have destroyed at least 166 homes in a rural county in northeastern New Mexico since the largest fire currently active in the United States began spreading through small towns east and west of Santa Fe on April 22, the chief said. of local police.
Winds gusting up to 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour) were forecast for Friday in the drought-stricken region. One expert noted that it’s a recipe for disaster on wilderness where trees have lower moisture content than kiln-dried lumber.
“Tomorrow is going to be a very, very dangerous fire,” fire behavior specialist Stewart Turner said at a briefing Thursday at the edge of the Santa Fe National Forest in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
“As we saw last Friday, epic fire behavior,” he said. “It is a day when as firefighters, we will write regarding it, we will read studies regarding it. It’s going to be a big fire day.”
A swath of the country from Arizona to the far north of Texas is expected to bear the brunt of the return of unfavorable fire-fighting weather that has led to unusually hot and fast-moving fires for this time of year, forecasts warned.
Extreme alerts for severe fire danger were in effect Thursday throughout New Mexico, parts of Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska.
On Thursday, more than 3,000 firefighters were battling fires in Arizona and New Mexico — regarding half of them in New Mexico, where more than 187 square miles (484 square kilometers), mostly trees and brush, have been burned. .