Firefighters working in the rugged mountains of west-central New Mexico braced for uncertain weather Saturday as they tried to build fire lines around a 100-acre blaze.
The steep terrain and likely afternoon thunderstorms will determine how much progress firefighters make against the Davenport Fire, said Cibola National Forest spokeswoman Karen Takai.
``We'll have this activity for the next days. We'll have some moisture from the thunderstorms but we'll also have that dry lightning,'' Takai said. ``It's a mixed blessing but we'll see what happens.''
Takai said crews plan to build as much fire line as possible to keep the blaze from growing.
The Davenport Fire flared up Friday, prompting forest officials to order a single-engine air tanker to drop fire retardant between the flames and a summer camp for children.
The fire burned ponderosa pine, pinon and juniper trees on a ridge above the valley where Mohave Academy is located. Takai said the 35 children who were attending the camp were on a field trip when the blaze started so they were out of harms way.
``The activity at a certain point was headed toward some structures but the winds have shifted,'' Takai said late Friday, noting that the fire was moving uphill and away from the camp, communication towers and the Davenport Lookout.
She warned that more afternoon thunderstorms Saturday could cause the winds to shift again.
Forest officials said a thunderstorm that moved over the area Friday afternoon brought with it dry lightning, which is believed to have sparked the blaze. Takai said the cause was still under investigation.
More than 100 firefighters were assigned to the blaze. They had help from several engines and a single-engine air tanker. Takai said more resources were expected to join the effort Saturday.
Officials were also monitoring two smaller fires that flared up Friday in the same region of the forest.
In northwestern New Mexico, San Juan County dispatchers received several calls Friday afternoon about a brush fire in a rural area east of Farmington.
The fire destroyed a mobile home and burned nearly 25 acres before crews managed to slow it down. Dispatchers said the blaze was 90 percent contained late Friday and authorities were investigating the cause.
With the threat of wildfire looming, campfire, smoking and forest access restrictions have been posted across the state. But rangers are still finding abandoned campfires within the forests around Santa Fe.
``It's just plain stupidity,'' said Alan Korpinen, patrol captain of the Cibola, Carson and Santa Fe national forests.
Forest rangers have cited about 15 people for being in off-limits areas since partial closures of the Santa Fe National Forest began just over a week ago, Korpinen said.
