Lightning blamed for deadly fire in New Mexico
Lightning sparked the larger of two wildfires raging across southern New Mexico, killing at least two people, destroying 1,400 structures and burning more than 60,000 acres, authorities said Wednesday.
The fire, known as the South Fork Fire, started on June 17 amid scorching temperatures and was 87 percent under control on Wednesday evening, The Bureau of Indian Affairs said in a press release.
“The identification of the point of origin and all evidence and data support lightning as the cause of the fire,” the agency said in a statement. “Human activity and factors did not contribute to the cause.”
On June 23, the FBI said it was offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the “person or persons responsible for starting” the South Fork Fire and the Salt Fire, the other major blaze in New Mexico.
On Wednesday, the agency said the fire in Salt, which authorities said was 84 percent contained, remains under investigation.
The FBI also said it is still offering a reward for information “leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for starting the Salt fire.”
Both are burning broke out on June 17, burning in the Mescalero Apache tribal lands, on U.S. Forest Service lands, and in areas around Ruidoso. The fires forced thousands of people to temporarily evacuate the village of Ruidoso and surrounding areas.
According to the Western Fire Chiefs Associationmost wildfires in the us are caused by humans, with lightning being the most common natural cause, the organization said.
