Terrifying images show massive plumes of smoke rising from growing New Mexico wildfires that have already scorched 16,000 acres of land and forced hundreds of people to flee their homes…(My Old Hunting Grounds…)
The blaze destroyed about a dozen empty buildings on the Boy Scouts’ storied Philmont Ranch and threatened nearly 300 homes, officials say
The flames were first reported Thursday and ballooned quickly in a part of New Mexico
More than 60 per cent of the U.S. West is experiencing some level of drought
Dry, windy and warm weather was expected to make conditions worse as the New Mexico fire burned
Authorities ordered residents in Cimarron and surrounding areas to evacuate Friday as the smoke drifted east
DAILYMAIL.COM
1 June 2018
A wildfire raced across a swath of tinder-dry forest in northeastern New Mexico on Friday, sending up a thick plume of smoke that forced residents to flee their homes as heat and wind threatened to drive the flames.
The blaze destroyed about a dozen empty buildings on the Boy Scouts’ storied Philmont Ranch and threatened nearly 300 homes, officials say.
The flames were first reported Thursday and ballooned quickly in a part of New Mexico hardest hit by a severe drought gripping the American Southwest.
More than 60 per cent of the U.S. West is experiencing some level of drought, the latest federal drought maps show, forcing national forests and other public lands to close because of escalating fire danger.
The area where Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado meet is at the center of a large patch of exceptional drought.
Dry, windy and warm weather was expected to make conditions worse as the New Mexico fire burned on state and private land, including part of the Boy Scouts’ ranch, state forestry spokeswoman Wendy Mason said.
Estimates put the blaze at more than 25 square miles (66 square kilometers). Its cause isn’t known.
Officials say no scouts were at the ranch and all staff members were accounted for. Employees who live in the nearby community of Cimarron were allowed to leave to care for their families.
Authorities ordered residents in Cimarron and surrounding areas to evacuate Friday as the smoke drifted east.
The Rest…HERE
