Front Page  news  state

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Calmer Weather Helping Firefighters


The Associated Press
      MANZANO — Relatively calm weather was giving firefighters a boost Tuesday as they bolstered lines around a human-caused blaze that burned 4,130 acres and nine homes in central New Mexico's Manzano Mountains.
    "They're going to be able to do a lot of good strengthening of containment lines and burning out interior fuels" within the fire's perimeter, said Dan Bastion, a public information officer.
    The Trigo Fire also has burned nine outbuildings and two recreational vehicles. Officials could not say whether anyone had been living in the homes.
    No injuries were reported.
    "Crews are buttoning it up over there (the west side) today. There's a little but of the interior that has to be burned out," Bastion said.
    Investigators have pinpointed where the fire began, "however they have not determined exactly who did it or how. We're quite confident it was human-caused," he said.
    The blaze began April 15 in the Cibola National Forest on the west side of the Manzano Mountains and burned to the east side onto private land and toward the small communities of Manzano and Torreon.
    The blaze — about 1 mile west of Manzano and 1.5 to 2 miles northwest of Torreon — did not advance Monday night and early Tuesday.
    Officials had asked people to voluntarily leave about 130 homes around Manzano and Torreon as the fire doubled in size from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning, but few showed up at evacuation centers. The evacuations were lifted Tuesday morning.
    The fire — burning mainly oak brush and pinon, juniper and ponderosa pine trees — was 27 percent contained and has cost $2.3 million to fight, Bastion said.
    The fire initially burned in rugged terrain, but now is in "more gentle country where we can use dozers," Bastian said.
    Fire crews on the ground were augmented by air tankers dropping fire retardant, and helicopters to drop buckets of water on the flames, Bastion said.
    The separate 640-acre Pepper Fire near Weed in southern New Mexico was contained Monday, said Margo Whitt, fire information officer. Some firefighters were being released and the remainder will continue mop-up operations, she said.
    Stage 2 fire restrictions, which include bans on campfires, driving off road and smoking outdoors, remain in effect for the Lincoln National Forest.
    Meanwhile, the 228,700-acre Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico closed its bosque areas to public recreation because of extreme fire danger. The closure will be re-evaluated on May 5, and will be lifted or continued as necessary.
    ___
    On the Net:
    National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov
    New Mexico Fire Information: http://www.nmfireinfo.com
   

Copyright ©2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.