ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Fire officials say crews have battled 27 fires on state and private land in New Mexico since Saturday, and they don’t expect relief in the fire season until the monsoons arrive in July.
The 27 fires — some of them still burning — have charred more than 49 square miles. Several have burned or threatened houses or other structures.
State Forestry Division spokesman Dan Ware says the count does not include a fire burning since April 28 that has charred an additional 73 square miles of forest land in and near the Gila Wilderness.
New Mexico has reported 455 fires that have burned more than 666 square miles since the beginning of the year.
Ware says officials are hoping for good seasonal moisture, but that won’t start until probably July.
