As a wildfire closes in, New Mexico residents prepare to flee
Firefighting crews were battling to keep the fire in northern New Mexico, the largest fire burning in the U.S., from making another run across the state's drought-parched landscape.
Updated May 2, 2022 at 10:05 PM ET
LAS VEGAS, N.M. — Wind-whipped flames raced across more of New Mexico's pine-covered mountainsides on Monday, closing in on a town of 13,000 people where some residents hurried to pack their cars with belongings, others hustled to clear brush from around their homes, and police were called in to help evacuate the state's psychiatric hospital.
Firefighting crews battled on several fronts to keep the fire, the largest burning in the U.S., from pushing into more populated areas as it fed on the state's drought-parched landscape. The fire has charred more than 217 square miles and flames could be seen from the small northeastern New
