Wildfire Forces Evacuation of New Mexico Mental Hospital

(Bloomberg) -- A wind-whipped wildfire that forced evacuations in a northeast New Mexico city and the state mental hospital is only 20% contained, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said Tuesday.

A total of five blazes are burning across the state, the governor said at a news briefing.

“We're not in control of Mother Nature,” said Joy Ansley, manager of San Miguel County, as the National Weather Service issued a red-flag wind warning for the region through Wednesday.

More than 1,000 firefighters are battling the largest blaze -- a 145,000-acre (58,679 hectares) conflagration in and around Las Vegas, New Mexico, that has burned for a month and destroyed at least 267 structures, officials said.

Firefighters are using shovels, fire engines and aircraft in a bid to halt the blaze's advance and “strengthening the perimeter,” according to a daily situation report issued by county officials at midday Tuesday. “We were lucky yesterday and the wind didn't blow as predicted.”

Some Las Vegas residents loaded cars and trucks with belongings and officials established a southbound route out of the city of 13,000. One section of the municipality and an adjacent strip of the county were under full evacuation.

Otherwise, “efforts to keep the city out of evacuation status are strong, constant and consistent” with 25 fire engines on stand-by, the situation report said.

All 197 patients at the state mental hospital in Las Vegas were evacuated Monday.

“Many of our caregivers live in the area that burned and many still don't know if their homes are still standing — still, they put their patients first,” said David R. Scrase, acting secretary for the New Mexico Department of Health.