ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As temperatures climb on the East Coast, wildfires driven by heat, dry winds and drought are scorching huge swaths of the Southwest, in states including New Mexico, Texas and Colorado, prompting a far-reaching mobilization of firefighting resources.
The early season blazes include the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak fire, which at 306,472 acres ranks as the biggest current wildfire in the United States and the largest in New Mexico’s recorded history. More than 2,400 firefighters, about half of the firefighters deployed around the Southwest, are battling the fire.
At least 10 wildfires have also been spreading in recent days in Texas, including the Mesquite Heat fire near Abilene, which has destroyed dozens of structures. In southwestern Colorado, cold, wet weather has helped authorities contain the Simms fire, but mandatory evacuations in the region have kept many people on edge.
Parched forests and bone-dry conditions are nurturing some of the blazes. But exceptionally erratic and forceful winds for this time of year, especially in New Mexico, have limited the capacity to drop water and retardant on some of the fires.
In southwestern New Mexico, authorities are also grappling with the Black fire, which has spread over 106,000 acres in the Gila National Forest. The ballooning size of the blaze, which officials say is 4% contained, makes it the state’s second megafire this year.
Forecasters are warning that strong wind gusts and dry weather could complicate firefighting efforts in New Mexico in the days ahead. With almost 85% of the state in extreme drought, authorities have shut down public access to national forests around the state. On Friday, the U.S. Forest Service announced that it would halt and review its practice of prescribed burns across the country in light of the extreme drought and dry fuels.
Reports of new blazes have people in New Mexico on tenterhooks and on the lookout for smoke in cities and rural areas. Albuquerque police officers arrested a woman this past week on arson charges, accusing her of intentionally lighting 12 fires in the Bosque cottonwood forest in the heart of the city.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times .