As New Mexico firefighters worked to contain the largest wildfire currently burning in the U.S., President Joe Biden proclaimed the incident a disaster.
New Mexico Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez announced the presidential disaster declaration during an evening briefing by the U.S. Forest Service.
By approving the disaster declaration, Biden allowed the release of emergency funding for recovery efforts in the three counties in northeastern New Mexico where fires are still burning. The blaze has fanned out across the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains, covering 250 square miles of forest and grasslands.
Biden’s disaster declaration also provides emergency funds for portions of southern New Mexico, where wind-driven blazes killed two people and destroyed more than 200 homes in mid-April.
According to a White House statement, the aid includes grants for temporary housing and repairs, low-cost loans for uninsured property losses, and other relief programs for both individuals and businesses.
“[The aid] will help us do that rebuilding, and it will help us with the expenses and the hardship that people are facing right now,” said Rep. Fernandez. “We’re glad it happened this quickly.”
Firefighters are taking advantage of the relatively calm and cooler weather to keep the fire from approaching the city of Las Vegas, New Mexico, and others located along the fire’s shifting fronts. Ground teams removed trees and brush to reduce the advancement of the fire along essential fronts while planes and helicopters dropped fire retardant from the sky.
On May 4, the fire approached Las Vegas, where schools were closed as residents prepared for a possible evacuation.
Mandatory evacuations have been issued for an estimated 15,500 residences in remote locations and in the valleys of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains that surround Las Vegas. The blaze has destroyed approximately 170 homes, and as of May 5, firefighters have contained only 20% of the fire’s perimeter.
Strong winds with gusts up to 45 mph are predicted to resume on Saturday afternoon, along with above-normal temperatures and “abysmally low” humidity, posing a severe fire risk, according to Todd Shoemake, an Albuquerque National Weather Service meteorologist.
