Raging Wildfire Burns Homes, Cars in N.M.*

Thursday November 22, 2007 2:46 AM

MOUNTAINAIR, N.M. (AP) - Air tankers and ground crews worked to knock
down a wind-whipped wildfire on Wednesday that burned several structures
and forced the evacuation of residents from a rural area in the Manzano
Mountains.

The blaze has charred about 12 square miles, damaging at least three
homes, four outbuildings and some vehicles since it broke out early
Monday, said Arlene Perea, a spokeswoman for the Cibola National Forest
Mountainair ranger district.

Perea said people in 75 to 100 homes in the villages of Punta del Agua
and Manzano, about 36 miles southeast of Albuquerque, along with other
residents in ranches scattered around the area were asked to leave.

``The biggest thing is just the weather,'' she said. ``The winds died
down and we got the air tankers up and we were able to knock down the
head of the fire.

A shelter was set up for evacuees at Mountainair High School, and people
were taking their livestock to the Mountainair rodeo grounds. Ground
crews worked Wednesday to bolster lines along the fire's flanks.

``It's way too dangerous to put anyone at the head of the fire,'' Perea
said.

The state's emergency operation center was assisting the communities,
while the Federal Emergency Management Agency agreed to help with costs
associated with fighting the blaze.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, but Perea noted there has
been no lightning in the area for a month.

The center's wildland fire outlook through January predicts an increased
chance of fire across portions of the eastern plains in New Mexico
primarily due to abundant grass after this year's wet spring and early
summer.