New Mexico's record-size wildfire could be preview of vicious fires to come

This image provided by the U.S. Forest Service shows the massive blaze in the Gila National Forest, seen from Cliff, N.M., May 29, 2012. / AP/U.S. Forest Service

(CBS/AP) ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Experts say a massive wildfire that has become the largest blaze in New Mexico history may just be a preview of what's to come after months of drought.

The fire in the Gila National Forest formed last week when two lightning-sparked blazes merged. About 1,200 firefighters are battling the growing blaze, but that they are facing low humidity and shifting winds.

The wildfire has burned more than 265 square miles, surpassing last year's Los Conchase fire.

Jeremy Sullens of the National Interagency Fire Center said La Nina is main reason the U.S. Southwest has experienced months of drought and saw a relatively mild winter. He says the grass that would have fallen because of snow remains high, sparking more dangerous fire conditions.

He added July's monsoon season will probably help in alleviating some fires, but it's unclear how much.

Fire information officer Jerry Perry said about 1,200 firefighters from around the state were battling the growing blaze, but that they continue to face low humidity and shifting winds in their efforts.

"We still facing adverse weather conditions that are posing a challenge," Perry said. "We're doing a lot of burnout operations and yesterday we had to deal with a lot of spot fires."

The blaze so far has threatened few communities and was burning away from many of New Mexico's largest towns and cities. But state officials issued air quality alerts for cities as far as Albuquerque, nearly 170 miles away, and Santa Fe last weekend, and Perry said parts of southern New Mexico could expect to see smoke from the fire.

The National Weather Service said winds will likely blow smoke into Las Cruces on Wednesday and Thursday.

Officials said communities surrounding the fire area could expect smoke to linger into Thursday morning. Cold air after sundown will push warm air to the surface, trapping smoke closer to the ground.

[lloydbest1]

"Jeremy Sullens of the National Interagency Fire Center said La Nina is main reason the U.S. Southwest has experienced months of drought and saw a relatively mild winter"

That's true but an incomplete explaination. La Nina is a factor but the main reason is a La Nina-like wind and ocean current pattern climate gurus like to call the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Wikipedia has a good summary of the PDO but it is essentially a longer lasting version of the El Nino/La Nina cycle.

What this means for the desert southwest is drought relief isn't likely in the near term. In fact it's possible that the Four Corners region could be facing up to 30 more years of above long-term average temperatures and diminishing rainfall. In a region with insufficient water for its population even during wet years, this bodes ill for future sustainability let alone growth.

[basha0810]

"La Nina is main reason the U.S. Southwest has experienced months of drought." Hogwash. The lack of RAIN is the main reason. La Nina. Whatever. "1,200 firefighters from around the state were battling the growing blaze." Well, there you go. Is NM too proud to ASK for help outside of the state? This is why this fire is the largest in NM history. They've only got firefighters from around the state battling it. They should have been proactive and brought outsiders IN before this fire grew this big. Let it burn. It isn't human caused. Gee. What did we do before man came along to put out fires!

[euge005]

They also need to understand that a terrorist need not attack a major tourist, political or industrial center. They can buy a box of matches and travel the country doing even more damage setting fires. National officals need to have people on line to stop these fires early. Maybe use inmates since the GOP does not think government jobs are important. But then they might change their minds if one of their mansions were in the fire's path.