Several campgrounds and canyon areas were evacuated when the fire erupted Wednesday afternoon.
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Voluntary evacuations have been ordered for Torrance County from the county line south to state Highway 55 and from state Highway 337 to the west.
Shelters were set up in both Estancia and Tijeras, authorities said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
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Martinez has activated the New Mexico Emergency Operations Center and declared a state of emergency.
Residents packed their vehicles with clothes, photo albums and other belongings, and some loaded animals into livestock trailers as a wall of smoke loomed between them and the border of the Cibola National Forest.
Authorities said Friday that the latest infrared mapping shows the fire is holding south and west of State Highway 337 and is a half-mile from Chilili, which was evacuated earlier this week as the fire ballooned in size thanks to hot, dry and windy conditions.
Evacuation orders remain in effect for the community of Forestdale.
ExxonMobil evacuated non-essential employees from the Las Flores Canyon site, and those that remained through the night helped protect it against the flames, company spokesman Todd Spitler said. Health officials advised residents to keep an eye out for smoke, noting that visibility of more than five miles generally means that it is safe to be outside.
Six air tankers, water-dropping helicopters and ground crews were assigned to the fire Thursday.
Nemeth says there are no reports of homes being immediately threatened.
Air tankers were again directed to create and fortify thick lines of fire retardant between the homes and the advancing fire.
The blaze – which shut down US 101, the state’s major coastal highway, for two nights in a row – more than tripled in size Friday and had consumed 9 square miles of heavy brush.
The fire has claimed 24 homes and 21 “other minor structures”, fire officials said.
A wildfire racing across central New Mexico has charred more than 26 square miles and destroyed two dozen homes near the small community of Chilili.
“Our defensive strategy will continue to emphasize protection of life and property while we look for a place to turn the corner and push this back up into the mountains and get full containment”, he said.
The forecast called for more hot, dry and stagnant weather, and officials said that’s expected to contribute to increased smoke concentrations throughout this weekend. Some structures have burned, but it’s not clear whether they were homes.
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According to New Mexico Fire Information, mandatory evacuations are from the junction of Anaya Rd and 337 southward to the Torrance county line, including the communities of Chilili, Escabosa, Los Seis Hermanos Estates, Marianette Ranch Estates, Llano del Sol, Tierra de Los Suenos, Ponderosa Estates, Capital Estates, Yrisarri, and Ponderosa Pines.
