New Mexico wildfire scar burn has forest officials worried
As more than 3,000 firefighters in northern New Mexico continue to battle the nation’s largest active wildfire.[USFS ]
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – As more than 3,000 firefighters in northern New Mexico continue to battle the nation’s largest active wildfire, federal forest officials are worrying about future flash floods, landslides and destructive ash from the burn scar.
The 7-week-old fire is the largest in New Mexico history. It remained 50% contained Sunday after charring 492 square miles (1,274 square kilometers) in rugged terrain east of Santa Fe. Elsewhere, firefighters continued to battle a wind-driven fire burning at the Arizona-California border.
And in Colorado, air tankers and helicopters were helping fight a new wildfire burning in the southern part of the state.