By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN and PAUL DAVENPORT
美联社
Firefighters scouted the drought-stricken mountainsides around a New Mexico village on Wednesday as they looked for opportunities to slow a wind-driven wildfire that a day earlier had burned at least 150 homes and other structures while displacing thousands of residents and forcing the evacuation of two schools.
家s were among the structures that had burned, but officials did not have a count of how many were destroyed in the blaze that torched at least 6.4 square miles (16.6 square kilometers) of forest, brush and grass on the east side of the community of Ruidoso, said Laura Rabon, spokesperson for the Lincoln National Forest.
Rabon在周三下午的简报期间宣布了对一个更密集的地区的紧急撤离，因为火灾跳过一条船员试图掌握线路的道路。她告诉人们进入他们的车。
So far, no deaths or injuries were reported from the fire, which has been fanned by strong winds.
While the cause of the blaze was under investigation, fire officials and forecasters warned Wednesday that persistent dry and windy conditions had promptedred flag warningsfor a wide swath that included almost all of New Mexico, half of Texas and parts of Colorado and the Midwest.
Five new large fires were reported Tuesday, and nearly 1,600 wildland firefighters and support personnel were assigned to large fires in the southwestern, southern and Rocky Mountain areas, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
Hotter and drier weather weather coupled with decades of fire suppression have contributed to an increase in the number of acres burned by wildfires, fire scientists say. And the problem is exacerbated by a more than 20-year Western megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change. The fire season has become year-round given changing conditions that include earlier snowmelt and rain coming later in the fall.
在Ruidoso，官员宣布了紧急状态，校班周三被取消为村庄 - 约有140英里（225公里）的El Paso，德克萨斯州的埃克萨斯州 - 由于电力线下降，应对电源停电。
烧毁的住宿主要是拖车和单身家庭的混合，并且近4,000人被周日订购的疏散流离失所。该数字预计将随着居民留下的最新呼吁而增长。
Village spokeswoman Kerry Gladden said authorities spent part of Wednesday surveying as much damage as possible before the winds kicked up again. Air tankers also were able to drop a few loads of slurry, and more air support was expected Thursday.
“Right now, everybody is just rallying around those who had to be evacuated,” Gladden said. “We’re just trying to reach out to make sure everyone has places to stay.”
捐赠涌入新墨西哥州南部的其他社区。州官员表示，已批准的紧急拨款将为消防员提供资源，并提供其他紧急努力。
Ruidoso in 2012 was hit by one of the most destructive wildfires in New Mexico history, when a lightning-sparked blaze destroyed more than 240 homes and burned nearly 70 square miles (181 square kilometers).
Rabon said Wednesday that no precipitation was in the forecast and humidity levels remained in the single digits, which would make stopping the flames more difficult.
“Those extremely dry conditions are not in our favor,” she said.
林肯国家森林的另一个野火在鲁伊多斯西北部烧毁了至少400英亩（1.6平方公里），电力线在高风电源线上引发。船员在周三确认了10个结构丢失了。
Elsewhere in New Mexico, wildfires were burning along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque, in mountains northwest of the community of Las Vegas and in grasslands along the Pecos River near the town of Roswell.
在科罗拉多州，船员正在争夺风鞭的草地火灾，这些草地摧毁了两个家园并强迫临时抽空。
