Las Conchas wildfire largest in NM history, now threatens historic site in Santa Clara Pueblo

From Capitol Report New Mexico.com - The threat from the Las Conchas wildfire to the Los Alamos National Laboratory seems to have been greatly reduced but gusty winds pushed the fire northward late Thursday (June 30) and early Friday and now the blaze has reached Santa Clara Pueblo, home to the 13th and 14th century Puyé Cliff Dwellings, as fire officials confirm the Las Conchas Fire as the largest in New Mexico history.As of Friday morning, the blaze has consumed 103,842 acres, surpassing the Dry Lakes Fire of 2003 that scorched more than 94,000 acres as the largest in state history. The Las Conchas Fire has been called 4 percent contained as it enters its sixth day and has evacuated more than 12,000 people and currrently has enlisted more than 1,200 firefighting personnel manning 52 engines. Backburns set around the perimeter of the Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) appear to have been very successful in beating back fires at the outskirts of the facility, which houses radioactive material and fire officials seem guardedly optimistic that they have gained the upper hand on that front of the blaze. But at the same time, the fire pushed upped into the Santa Clara Pueblo and there are reports that the western half of the pueblo’s forests burned overnight, damaging the community’s watershed and threatening the cliff dwellings, which are one of the Southwest’s most remarkable cultural sites. It was unclear by Friday morning if the Puyé dwellings had been damaged but the pueblo’s governor, Walter Dasheno, released a statement saying, “We are devastated to witness the destruction of our precious homeland.” About 1,000 people live on the pueblo. Shifting winds — combined with drought conditions that have made the landscape bitterly dry — have made fighting the fire extremely difficult. “We have seen fire behavior we have never seen before,” Fire Chief Doug Tucker told reporters late Thursday. Read more