Wildfire Rages Near Taos; 1,000 Forced to Flee

Firefighters fought on land and by air Monday to thwart a fast-moving wildfire that burned 7,500 acres, destroyed more than two dozen buildings and forced 1,000 people to flee.

Much of the damage struck La Lama, an unincorporated village of 75 about 20 miles north of Taos.

Gov. Gary Johnson has declared a state of emergency throughout New Mexico, where firefighters just contained the 16,683-acre Dome Fire outside Los Alamos National Laboratory last week.

“Any sort of activity that might start a fire has got to be stopped,” Johnson said Monday.

On Sunday, the fire burned down 27 buildings in La Lama, including half a dozen homes, authorities said. The community had been evacuated before the fire struck. No injuries were reported, but 18 of the village’s families lost their homes.

The blaze was ignited Sunday by a trash fire in San Cristobal, then raced northward to La Lama, forcing the evacuation of about 1,000 residents there and in the communities of Questa to the north and Red River to the northeast.