New Mexico Burning

CARSON NATIONAL FOREST, New Mexico: The second major New Mexico wildfire in as many weeks has forced more than 2000 people to flee their homes in northern part of the state, as a fast-moving blaze destroyed several buildings and threatened hundreds more. The fire has consumed 7,000 acres, mostly national forest, and has reportedly come within ten miles of vacation towns Red River, Taos and Eagle Nest. In La Lama, about 23 buildings, including ten belonging to the Lama Foundation spiritual community, have been destroyed. The fire began Sunday as a small trash fire. TIME's Nancy Harbert reports from Albuquerque that area residents are worried that this fire and another near Tucson, Arizona are putting a strain on firefighting resources. "Normally, the fire season doesn't start until June, so we're all nervous that this hasn't peaked. There is a fear that if there are more fires in the Southwest, they won't have the ability to fight them all. There has only been 0.38 inches of rainfall since the first of the year, and the moisture content of debris on the forest floor is less than half what it usually is." Significant rain doesn't usually reach the region until July or August. So far, U.S. Forest Service officials have been able to contain the blazes before they caused extensive damage to private property. Last week's 16,000-acre Dome Fire threatened the Los Alamos National Laboratories, where much of the early research on atomic energy was conducted, but no damage to the station was done.