New Mexico fire updates: How many have been evacuated now?
SEVERE drought and dry conditions have sparked wildfires in New Mexico. But how many people have been evacuated now?
Residents evacuate after wildfire TORCHES Ute Park
The Weather Channel has reported fourteen buildings have been destroyed in the New Mexico blaze and hundreds of other homes are threatened.
Evacuations have also taken place in California and Colorado due to separate wildfires.
Residents have evacuated Ute Park, in New Mexico as the aggressive wildfire rapidly burned more than 56 square miles of land through the weekend.
Areas in and around Ute Park are currently in exceptional drought – the worst category – according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The fire has destroyed 14 unoccupied structures at the Boy Scouts’ Philmont Ranch overnight as it spread to Highway 64, in Ut Park.
More than 200 buildings in the area are threatened by the fire and around 550 structures are at risk in nearby Cimarron, according to KOAT.com.
Cimarron village councillor Matthew Gonzales said the area was not in any imminent danger however, Cimarron is under a mandatory evacuation order.
Officials also said the fire danger forced the Santa Fe National Forest to close on Friday morning.
It will remain closed until conditions improve, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
National Forest Supervisor James Melonas said in a statement to the Santa Fe New Mexican: “Under current conditions, one abandoned campfire could cause a catastrophic wildfire, and we are not willing to take that chance with the natural and cultural resources under our protection and care.”