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Las Vegas, May 5 (BNA): Firefighters slowed the progress of the largest US wildfire as high winds subsided Wednesday, while President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration that brings new financial resources to remote areas of fire-ravaged New Mexico from early on. . April.
U.S. Representative Teresa Legere Fernandez made the presidential disaster declaration during an evening briefing by the U.S. Forest Service on efforts to contain the sprawling wildfires in northeastern New Mexico, which have spread across 250 square miles (647 square kilometers) of high alpine forest. The Associated Press (AP) found that grasslands at the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains.
“It will help us rebuild, it will help us with the expenses and the hardships that people are facing now,” the congresswoman said. “We are glad this happened so quickly.”
Fire chiefs said they are taking a period of calm and relatively cool weather to keep the fire from getting too close to the small city of Las Vegas in New Mexico and other villages scattered along the fire change fronts. Planes and helicopters dropped red mud from the sky, as ground crews cleared timber and trees to starve fire along crucial fronts.
For days, bulldozers have been scraping fire lines in the suburbs of Las Vegas, which has a population of 13,000, while crews have been burning to remove nearby vegetation. Aircraft dropped more fire suppressants as a second line of defense along a ridge just west of the city in preparation for strong winds expected over the weekend.
An estimated 15,500 homes in the outback and in the valleys of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains bordering Las Vegas have been affected by the mandatory evacuations. The number of homes destroyed by the fire was about 170.
The president’s disaster declaration issued emergency funds for recovery efforts in three counties in northeastern New Mexico where fires are still raging, as well as parts of southern New Mexico where wind-triggered fires killed two people and destroyed more than 200 homes in mid-April.
A White House statement said the aid includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other relief programs for individuals and businesses.
Local law enforcement officials acknowledged the physical and emotional toll of the protracted evictions. Las Vegas Police Chief Antonio Salazar said his officers will provide “burglary patrols” to evacuated areas and help maintain order at a local Walmart while people line up to buy supplies.
“Re-population, that’s something that matters very much to us,” San Miguel County Sheriff Chris Lopez said. “Everyone wants to go home.”
Dan Pearson, a fire behavior specialist for the federal government, said meteorologists expect two days of relatively light winds before strong spring storms return.
“Our prayers are working because we have beneficial winds around the fire zone today,” he said. “We will take advantage of this fact over the next few days. … What we can do is build elastic pockets.”
The fire was contained across only 20% of its surroundings. The flames on Wednesday were about a mile (1.6 km) from Las Vegas, where schools were closed as residents prepared for a possible evacuation.
Officials at Los Alamos National Laboratory were cautiously tracking another wildfire that intruded on Wednesday about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from facilities at the US National Defense Laboratory in Los Alamos.
Fire crews worked to widen the road between the fire and Los Alamos while clearing bushes and treating the area with fire retardants.
Scientists and fire experts said wildfires are becoming a year-round threat in the drought-stricken West — moving faster and burning hotter than ever before due to climate change. Fire officials also point to overgrown areas where vegetation can exacerbate wildfires.
Nationally, the National Interagency Fire Center reported Wednesday that dozens of large, uncontained fires have burned about 436 square miles (1,129 square kilometers) in five states.
MI