The Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire is seen from the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial near Angel Fire Wednesday. Mandatory evacuations spread into southern Colfax County as the fire grows to more than 236,000 acres. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)
Copyright © 2022 Albuquerque Journal
For weeks, Angel Fire Mayor Jo Mixon has kept an eye on the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire – paying attention to extreme wind forecasts and the fire’s progression.
Now, the village is working to make sure residents are ready to leave if the fire gets closer.
On Wednesday, officials told residents to prepare for possible evacuation.
“It’s happening so quickly and everybody’s in shock,” Mixon said. “We’re looking at the fact that this is real and we could possibly be told to go, and some things might not be here when we get back.”
Mandatory wildfire evacuations have now spread into four counties in northern New Mexico.
Black Lake and Hidden Lake south of Angel Fire in Colfax County have been issued mandatory evacuation orders.
In Taos County, areas east of Sipapu to the Mora County line were also told to evacuate.
The fire perimeter has grown to more than 236,000 acres, or about 370 square miles, and is 33% contained as of Wednesday evening.
The containment percentage has dropped from earlier this week, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that containment lines were compromised. As the fire gets bigger, the ratio of containment to total fire perimeter drops.
The blaze created a spot fire northwest of Chacon and is “getting pretty close” to Guadalupita, said operations section chief Todd Abel.
“The fire is wanting to move to the north and a little bit to the east,” Abel said.
Thursday will be another red-flag day, with wind gusts of up to 40 mph in the fire area.
But the weather could ease up on Friday.
“It’s still going to be dry, it’s still going to be warm but, with less wind, hopefully it will give us a little bit of a breather over the weekend,” said incident meteorologist Makoto Moore.
Mora County officials announced Wednesday evening that some areas along N.M. 518 between Las Vegas and Mora would open for residents to return to their properties.
But Mora is still under mandatory evacuation orders.
The fire prompted Carson National Forest officials to close the Camino Real Ranger District in the forest’s southeast region.
Southern Colfax County has been busy as residents pack essentials, and load trailers with horses, alpacas and cattle.
“There’s lots of fire equipment coming in, lots of people …….