East Fork firefighters respond to New Mexico blazes

Four East Fork firefighters and a brush engine are scheduled to leave today for New Mexico where hundreds of homes have been lost to wildfires over the past few weeks.

“Destructive fires have been burning in the Southwest due to drought conditions and wind-driven flames that continue to fuel these dangerous fire conditions,” East Fork Deputy Chief Scott Gorgon said on Monday.

The Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch received a request for resources from New Mexico on Monday morning as yet another fire began to spread.

According to Monday’s National Interagency Coordination Center’s situation report, 675 structures have burned in Southwestern wildfires burning across New Mexico and Arizona.

The Hermits Peak fire nearly doubled in size near Las Vegas, N.M. to 116,031 acres and isn’t expected to be contained until the end of July.

Fire season reared its head late Monday afternoon when Tahoe-Douglas firefighters responded to a 1,000 square foot fire in the meadow at Highway 50 and Kahle Drive.

With gusts of 30 mph at around 4 p.m. the flames sent a plume visible in Stateline, which prompted several calls to 911. Firefighters had the blaze under control within 20 minutes.

A resident not far east of the base of Kingsbury Grade reported a wind gust blew the roof off her barn around 9:15 a.m. when the Valley was experiencing its first big wind gusts. Blustery conditions are forecast to return on Thursday.