Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

US House Passes Stablecoin Legislation, Sending Bill to Trump

3 hours ago

Man Admits to Killing Missing Bass Lake Resident, Madera County Authorities Say

5 hours ago

Trump Diagnosed With Vein Condition Causing Leg Swelling, White House Says

6 hours ago

US Strikes Destroyed Only One of Three Iranian Nuclear Sites, NBC News Reports

8 hours ago

US Seeks One-Day Sentence for Police Officer Convicted in Breonna Taylor Case

9 hours ago

Manhattan Prosecutor Who Handled Epstein Cases Is Fired

10 hours ago

Why California Ag Is at Odds Over Converting Land to Solar Farms

10 hours ago

7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Off Alaska Coast. No Danger to California

1 day ago
Mansions Destroyed in SoCal Wildfire; Massive New Mexico Blaze Grows
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
May 12, 2022

Share

 

A wildfire that erupted Wednesday afternoon in Southern California raced through coastal bluffs of multimillion-dollar mansions, burning at least 20 homes, fire officials said. The flames were fanned by gusty ocean winds but they were dying down Wednesday night. No injuries were reported but several streets were ordered evacuated.

The fire, which occurred in Laguna Niguel, was relatively small at about 200 acres but the wind drove embers into palm trees, attics and dense, dry brush on slopes and steep canyons that hadn’t burned for decades, Brian Fennessy, chief of the Orange County Fire Authority, said at an evening news conference.

Fennessy said climate change has made even small fires that once would have been easily contained into extreme threats to life and property throughout the West.

Meanwhile, the largest wildfire in the U.S. has been burning for a month and was spreading toward mountain resort towns in northern New Mexico on Wednesday, prompting officials to issue another set of warnings for more people to evacuate.

“Day 36,” fire spokesman Bill Morse said at a briefing Wednesday night. “Ever since April 6, this fire has grown day by day by day.”

As night fell, fire officials in New Mexico said the fastest-moving flames along the eastern front of the Sangre de Cristo range on the southern end of the Rockies were headed farther northeast — away from the area’s biggest population center in Taos, a well-known tourist enclave 40 miles south of the Colorado line.

“Currently no issues in the Taos area,” fire operations chief Todd Abel said. “The fire is kind of wanting to move to the north and east a little bit. But we’re still going to pay close attention.”

Some aircraft were able to fly to drop retardant on the blaze despite winds gusting in some areas in excess of 45 mph (72 kph). And some evacuation orders were relaxed along the southern flank of the fire near Las Vegas, New Mexico — more than 50 miles south of the flames on the northern perimeter.

Additional crews were on order to join the more than 1,800 personnel fighting the fire, and forecasters said conditions should be more favorable by the weekend if crews can hold their ground through another red-flag warning stretch into Thursday evening.

On Wednesday, the most active part of the wind-fueled fire northeast of Mora was tossing hot embers farther into unburned territory giving the fire an even bigger foothold on the tinder-dry landscape.

“Another hot, dry, windy day. No surprises there,” fire incident meteorologist Makoto Moore said at Wednesday night’s briefing in Las Vegas.

After growing more than 50 square miles (130 square kilometers) the day before, the fire had charred more than 370 square miles (958 square kilometers) by Wednesday morning. Evacuations were ordered for villages south of the resort town of Angel Fire east of Taos, where residents were told to also be packed and ready to go.

The towering plume of smoke created by the raging wildfire could be seen hundreds of miles away Wednesday afternoon, but it was more unnerving for residents of Taos.

“I think everyone is a little on edge,” Karina Armijo, a town spokeswoman, said Wednesday, adding that she’s been busy fielding calls from people who are wondering whether it’s still safe to visit. “It’s hard to say what’s going to happen a week from now versus three weeks from now — or even tomorrow.”

In winter, the challenging ski slopes just north of town draw people from around the world. Just last month, the Taos ski valley hosted the World Pro Ski Tour’s championship races. Art galleries, adobe churches and a rich history of Hispanic and Native American culture are the attractions in warmer months along with the aspen-covered biking and hiking trails that traverse the region.

The fire already has burned through a forested landscape held sacred by its rural residents, many losing homes that have been in their families for generations. Some residents allowed to return Tuesday and Wednesday found only charred rubble. Others were more fortunate as the flames skirted their homes.

Firefighters were working to protect buildings around the towns of Mora and Holman and in smaller villages to the north, while authorities closed many roads in the area due to firefighting activity, smoke and fire danger.

“This is tough firefighting business right here,” fire Incident Commander Dave Bales said in a briefing. “This is not easy, especially in the fuel types we’re in, in the Ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, even down into the grass. When we can’t fly aircraft, when we can’t get people on the direct edge of the fire, when it’s spotting over us, that’s a huge concern for us.”

A federal disaster already has been declared because of the blaze, which is partly the result of a preventative fire that escaped containment on April 6 after it was set to clear brush and small trees so they could not serve as wildfire fuel. That fire merged with another wildfire several weeks later.

Crews also were battling a smaller fire near Los Alamos National Laboratory, a key government facility for nuclear research that has been tapped to ramp up production of plutonium components for the nation’s nuclear arsenal. Most employees began working remotely this week as the lab and adjacent town prepared for possible evacuations as a precaution.

Crews working that blaze have been using heavy machinery to clear out vegetation and build more fire lines in hopes of keeping the flames from moving closer to the community.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Stephen Colbert’s Late-Night Show on CBS to End in May 2026

DON'T MISS

Former Los Banos Teacher Indicted on Federal Child Exploitation Charges

DON'T MISS

C for Chaos? Ashjian Kicked Off Measure C Committee

DON'T MISS

Israel Demands UN Scrap Investigation Body for Palestinian Territories

DON'T MISS

Trump Signs Executive Order Creating New Classification of Non-Career Federal Workers

DON'T MISS

Judge Rules Trump’s Firing of FTC Commissioner Was Illegal

DON'T MISS

US House Passes Stablecoin Legislation, Sending Bill to Trump

DON'T MISS

US Health Department Hands Over Medicaid Personal Data to ICE

DON'T MISS

Fresno Grass Fire Near Woodward Park Prompts Brief Evacuations

DON'T MISS

Behind the Masks: Who Are the People Rounding Up Immigrants in California?

UP NEXT

Former Los Banos Teacher Indicted on Federal Child Exploitation Charges

UP NEXT

C for Chaos? Ashjian Kicked Off Measure C Committee

UP NEXT

Israel Demands UN Scrap Investigation Body for Palestinian Territories

UP NEXT

Trump Signs Executive Order Creating New Classification of Non-Career Federal Workers

UP NEXT

Judge Rules Trump’s Firing of FTC Commissioner Was Illegal

UP NEXT

US House Passes Stablecoin Legislation, Sending Bill to Trump

UP NEXT

US Health Department Hands Over Medicaid Personal Data to ICE

UP NEXT

Fresno Grass Fire Near Woodward Park Prompts Brief Evacuations

UP NEXT

Behind the Masks: Who Are the People Rounding Up Immigrants in California?

UP NEXT

Homeowners With Solar Rise Up to Defang Bill Authored by Former Utility Executive

Israel Demands UN Scrap Investigation Body for Palestinian Territories

2 hours ago

Trump Signs Executive Order Creating New Classification of Non-Career Federal Workers

2 hours ago

Judge Rules Trump’s Firing of FTC Commissioner Was Illegal

3 hours ago

US House Passes Stablecoin Legislation, Sending Bill to Trump

3 hours ago

US Health Department Hands Over Medicaid Personal Data to ICE

4 hours ago

Fresno Grass Fire Near Woodward Park Prompts Brief Evacuations

4 hours ago

Behind the Masks: Who Are the People Rounding Up Immigrants in California?

4 hours ago

Homeowners With Solar Rise Up to Defang Bill Authored by Former Utility Executive

5 hours ago

Man Admits to Killing Missing Bass Lake Resident, Madera County Authorities Say

5 hours ago

Trump Diagnosed With Vein Condition Causing Leg Swelling, White House Says

6 hours ago

Stephen Colbert’s Late-Night Show on CBS to End in May 2026

LOS ANGELES – “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on CBS will end in May 2026 after the upcoming broadcast season, the ne...

54 minutes ago

Stephen Colbert arrives for the Saturday Night Live 50: The Anniversary Special at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, U.S., February 16, 2025. (Reuters File)
54 minutes ago

Stephen Colbert’s Late-Night Show on CBS to End in May 2026

The crest of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File photo
1 hour ago

Former Los Banos Teacher Indicted on Federal Child Exploitation Charges

2 hours ago

C for Chaos? Ashjian Kicked Off Measure C Committee

Flares fired by Israel Defense Forces light the sky above Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
2 hours ago

Israel Demands UN Scrap Investigation Body for Palestinian Territories

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Trump Signs Executive Order Creating New Classification of Non-Career Federal Workers

Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter testifies on the "Oversight of the Federal Trade Commission" before the U.S. Senate Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security Subcommittee in the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, U.S., November 27, 2018. (Reuters File)
3 hours ago

Judge Rules Trump’s Firing of FTC Commissioner Was Illegal

FILE PHOTO: A view shows the dome of the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
3 hours ago

US House Passes Stablecoin Legislation, Sending Bill to Trump

A view of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 27, 2025. (Reuters File)
4 hours ago

US Health Department Hands Over Medicaid Personal Data to ICE

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend