CORONA, N.M. (AP) -- Firefighters battling a wildfire that has charred a ranch home and hundreds of acres in the Cibola National Forest were trying to make ground against the flames before afternoon winds kicked up.
Crews resumed work Saturday after being pulled off the Lookout Fire the night before because of dangerous conditions created by strong wind and darkness.
Winds were expected to reach 45 mph Saturday afternoon. The National Weather Service in Albuquerque issued a wind advisory from noon until the evening for much of eastern New Mexico, including the burn area.
"The increased winds are going to present a challenge," said fire information officer Mark Chavez.
The fire, the state's first large one of the wildfire season, was reported Friday morning in the Cibola National Forest near Corona. By early afternoon, the wind pushed the flames from tree to tree.
The fire has charred between 1,500 and 1,800 acres of grassland and ponderosa pine stands, Chavez said.
A home on the Sanchez Ranch about 10 miles from Corona was burned as the fire moved through, he said. The ranch was evacuated earlier Friday. Another structure burned, but fire officials did not have any details.
The fire also burned through an area of Gallinas Peak where television, communication and microwave towers were located. Chavez said the Forest Service's watchtower on the peak was also damaged.
Fire officials continued to hope Saturday that the fire would burn into an area charred three years ago by the Pinatosa Fire. The fire headed in a different direction Friday evening, and Chavez said its direction Saturday would depend on the wind.
"We just don't know what Mother Nature will do," he said.
A Type 2 major fire command team plans to take over management of the fire, and additional firefighters were expected to arrive through the day.
About 160 firefighters, including four elite hot shot crews, were already fighting the fire on the ground while four single-engine air tankers dropped slurry from above, Chavez said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, but officials said there were no reports of lightning in the area.
Elsewhere, about 332 acres burned in the so-called Peppin Fire above Capitan.
