Wind Whips Destructive Wildfires In New Mexico, Colorado

"1,700 students in the drought-stricken village of Ruidoso have had to be evacuated."

"RUIDOSO, N.M. — A wind-driven wildfire swept through neighborhoods in a mountain community in drought-stricken south-central New Mexico, burning at least 150 structures and forcing the evacuations of schools with 1,700 students, officials said Wednesday.

Homes were among the structures that burned on Tuesday but officials did not have a count of how many were destroyed in the blaze that torched at least 6.4 square miles (16.6 square kilometers) of forest, brush and grass on the east side of the community of Ruidoso, said Laura Rabon, spokesperson for the Lincoln National Forest."

Firefighters scouted the drought-stricken mountainsides around a New Mexico village on Wednesday as they looked for opportunities to slow a wind-driven wildfire that a day earlier had burned at least 150 homes and other structures while displacing thousands of residents and forcing the evacuation of two schools.

... So far, no deaths or injuries were reported from the fire, which has been fanned by strong winds.

Susan Montoya Bryan and Paul Davenport report for the Associated Press April 13, 2022.

Source: AP, 04/14/2022