Firefighters brace for windy conditions

| The Associated Press

4/21/2008 - 4/21/08

MANZANO, N.M. — Firefighters braced for windy conditions Monday, a day after gusty winds grounded air tankers and sent the Trigo Fire on a nail-biting run between the towns of Manzano and Torreon.

More crews poured into the area overnight, and additional air tankers were ordered against the 3,745-acre fire.

And although few people paid heed to voluntary evacuations for Manzano and Torreon, those evacuations remained in effect Monday, said Deanna Younger, lead fire information officer with the New Mexico Type II Incident Management Team.

"We can't force people to leave their homes," she said.

Wind-driven flames jumped a fire contingency line and crossed the Cibola National Forest boundary onto private land Sunday afternoon and roared onto flatter land with grass and shrubs, considered lighter but "flashier fuels," Younger said.

Dozers worked overnight, cutting lines around the flanks and head of the fire. Crews on Monday were working to strengthen fire lines and hold lines.

"We still have some areas that are unstable," Younger said. "We will have red flag (windy) conditions again today ... and the danger factor is still there. It's a critical day as far as fire suppression goes."

Officials on Sunday asked people to leave about 130 homes around Manzano and Torreon as the fire raced down the east side of the Manzano Mountains southeast of Capilla Peak, doubling in size from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning.

Dark smoke hung over Manzano most of Sunday afternoon as firefighters went door-to-door, asking residents to leave. Although the threat was deemed severe, not many people in Manzano left, Younger said.

"They were standing there right in the middle of town watching it go past the town. It was a few miles away," Younger said Sunday evening.

The fire was 30 percent contained.

The fire had threatened up to 150 homes and other buildings, but there was no confirmation on whether any structures had burned because crews cannot get into some areas to check, Younger said. She said it was possible some homes or cabins had burned near the forest boundary.

Residents between Torreon and the Red Canyon Campground who were urged to evacuated had been told to register at Mountainair High School or at the Estancia Community Center. However, the Red Cross closed both of those evacuation centers Sunday night because so few people showed up.

Winds Sunday afternoon grounded air tankers and helicopters that had dropped fire retardant on the blaze earlier in the day. Air tankers and helicopters were back on the attack Monday morning, however.

Additional fire crews were ordered, but Younger said some other crews are nearing the end of the maximum time they're allowed to be on the fire lines without a break.

A plume of smoke was visible from more than 60 miles away, said Linda Kearns of the Mountainair Ranger District.

"There's heavy, heavy smoke," Kearns said. "The smoke has increased a lot. It's filling up the whole sky."

The Trigo Fire started last Tuesday, closing Capilla Peak and threatening communications towers and a University of New Mexico observatory. Investigators are looking into the cause, which was deemed suspicious.

In southern New Mexico, winds gusting up to 50 mph slowed fire crews' efforts on the Pepper Fire, which has scorched about 640 acres near Weed. The blaze was 75 percent contained Monday, said fire information officer Margo Whitt.

Crews continuing mopping up operations and holding fire lines against the wind, she said.

"We had some pretty good winds yesterday, and we didn't get anything outside the line, so that's a good thing," Whitt said.