New Mexico fire balloons to 19 square miles

The community was among those placed under a mandatory evacuation Wednesday night as the flames marched northeast.

A fire burning in central New Mexico that has forced evacuations and destroyed structures has charred more than 19 square miles.

Fire officials Thursday morning said the Dog Head Fire burning in Manzanos made a big push overnight and burned some structures as it reached the small community of Chilili.

In addition to Thursday’s wind, relative humidity values will be extremely low making for unfavorable fire weather conditions throughout the afternoon along with hotter than normal temperature for this time of the year.

“Property can be replaced, but lives cannot”, she said.

Residents of the town of Chilili along state road 337 begin to evacuate due to the Dog Head wildfire near the Manzano mountains, Wednesday, June 15, 2016, in Chilili, N.M.

Nemeth says there are no reports of homes being immediately threatened.

As of 2:45 p.m., there were around 70 personnel on scene or en route to the scene, including an air attack plane, two hot shot crews, a chopper, three engines and one tanker en route to the fire.

Fire officials also announced voluntary evacuations for residences from the Torrance County line south to Highway 55 and from Highway 337 to the west.

Authorities say a wildfire that’s burning out of control in rugged coastal canyons west of Santa Barbara is now posing little risk to a nearby oil processing facility.

Its cause is under investigation. About 50 homes have already been evacuated.

While law enforcement and fire officials are releasing information as it become available, the are many people with resources in the East Mountains and Estancia Valley who are stepping forward of offer help and coordinating efforts.

Another day of direct attack was planned Thursday, with several air tankers and helicopters dropping fire retardant and water directly on the flames while ground crews build more line. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.

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