Massive Blaze on 605 Extinguished

CIBOLA COUNTY, NM – As winds reached speeds of over 50 miles per hour on April 3, an RV caught on fire. What started as a relatively small, contained blaze was caught by the wind which spread hot ambers across the land before finally, enough embers landed and caught a large wall of tires on fire.

With fire engines, fire tenders, and the ground work of firefighters, the blaze was extinguished. The fire burned for several hours, releasing thick black smoke into the air.

Milan Volunteer Fire Department, San Rafael Volunteer Fire Department, Bluewater Volunteer Fire Department, Cibola County Fire Command, Grants Fire and Rescue, Superior Ambulance, and the US Forestry Division responded to fight the massive blaze.

Fire crews remind Cibola residents that despite a large increase in precipitation to the area, the county is still considered in drought and a large chunk of the land remains abnormally dry, which increases the chances for fires. The drought may not be at its worst point, largely due to increased precipitation, but the land remains dry which creates dangerous opportunities for fires to erupt. Still, over a quarter of the land across Cibola County is considered abnormally dry on the United States Drought Monitor.