Indios Fire near Coyote grows as forecasters predict dry, windy weekend

May 24—A wildfire in Rio Arriba County is still growing as New Mexico heads into a holiday weekend in which dry conditions and high winds will create a high risk of fire throughout the state.

All of New Mexico is under a red flag warning for the weekend, which means warm temperatures, very low humidities and stronger winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger.

The Indios Fire, burning about 7 miles north of the village of Coyote, had grown to 1,809 acres as of late Friday morning and remained completely uncontained. There were 133 firefighters battling the blaze with five engines, two masticators, a helicopter, a road grader and a water tender.

The lightning-caused fire has been burning since Sunday and is in "steep, almost inaccessible terrain," U.S. Forest Service officials said in a news release Friday.

Temperatures in the area reached around 72 degrees Friday with low humidity and wind gusts of up to 25 mph in the afternoon.

"Wind trends will be stronger on Saturday, creating critical fire weather conditions despite the slight increase in humidity," forest officials said.

This is will be true throughout New Mexico on Saturday, especially in the southeastern part of the state, where the 1,500-acre Blue 2 Fire near Ruidoso already has prompted the evacuation of some rural homes.

Saturday will feature "critical to extreme fire weather danger, really across the whole state of New Mexico," Randall Hergert, a meterologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, said in a Friday afternoon briefing.

Eastern New Mexico will be the windiest, with maximum gusts Saturday of 45 mph in Las Vegas, 48 mph in Raton and Clines Corners and 45 mph in Carlsbad, Tucumcari and Santa Rosa. It will be a little calmer in Santa Fe, with wind gusts not expected to exceed 37 mph.

In addition to wind and "abysmally low humidity," southeastern New Mexico and the Sacramento Mountains area could be affected by smoke blowing from the Blue 2 Fire and blowing dust limiting visibility, Hergert said.

Northern New Mexico likely will be less affected by this, although forecasters said there is a possibility of isolated dust problems in the Santa Fe and Albuquerque areas.

As of Friday, forest officials had closed a large area around the Indios Fire, including the entire Chama River Canyon Wilderness south of the Rio Gallina and Rio Chama. The rest of the closed area starts at Continental Divide Trail No. 298 at N.M. 96, heading north across Forest Road 77, through the wilderness to Skull Bridge on Forest Road 151.

Camping and water will be available at the Coyote Ranger Station for Continental Divide Trail hikers affected by the closure.