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Efforts to battle New Mexico’s largest-ever wildfire were aided Monday by thunderstorms rolling through the region.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon fires have scorched 299,565 acres thus far.
NEW MEXICO WILDFIRE SCORCHES NEARLY 300,000 ACRES, BECOMES LARGEST WILDFIRE IN STATE HISTORY
The fires were 26% contained and 2,094 personnel remained on the lines in the Sangre de Cristo mountain range south of Taos.
More than 260 homes have burned and more evacuations were prompted over the weekend.
Aerial attacks also helped about 1,000 firefighters make progress Monday on a large fire west of Santa Fe.
“We haven’t seen rain in a really long time so that’s exciting,” San Miguel County Sheriff Chris Lopez told reporters Monday night.
“It gave us a little bit of a breather,” he said.
Some lightning sparked a few new small fires, including one around 2.5 miles from Sedona, Arizona.
Fire officials said it had burned less than an acre and that the growth potential was low.
Fires were also burning elsewhere in New Mexico and in Colorado, and Colorado Springs enacted a fire ban.
Burn bans and fire restrictions also have been put in place in around New Mexico in recent weeks.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, more than 4,600 wildland firefighters and support personnel are assigned to incidents.
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To date, 25,637 wildfires have burned 1.3 million acres this year.
Scientists and experts say fires are moving faster and burning hotter than ever due to climate change.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
