New Mexico Wildfire Doubles in Size, Threatens Village

A wildfire threatening a village in northern New Mexico has doubled in size to over 42 square miles as firefighters try to protect nearly 300 homes and a Boy Scouts camp, the AP reports. Fire management team spokeswoman Sandra Lopez said the fire on Saturday was about 3 miles west of Cimarron, which was evacuated Friday. The fire has destroyed 12 to 14 outbuildings at nearby Philmont Scout Ranch. Lopez says winds from the east may help keep the fire from the village Saturday but precipitation expected from a storm Sunday won't be enough to extinguish the fire before dry conditions return Monday. Approximately 450 firefighters and other personnel are assigned to the fire. Its cause is under investigation. Cimarron is 138 miles northeast of Albuquerque.

Meanwhile, officials declared the largest wildfire in recorded California history officially extinguished Friday, nearly six months after it ignited and later burned hillsides that washed away in deadly mudslides northwest of Los Angeles, the AP reports. Los Padres National Forest officials made the designation after detecting no hotspots within the perimeter of the Thomas fire for more than two months. The flames broke out on Dec. 4, 2017, near Thomas Aquinas College and burned more than 440 square miles in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Two people were killed, including a state firefighter. The flames destroyed more than 1,000 buildings before they were fully contained on Jan. 12.