New Mexico Navajo community prepares for wildfire evacuation

A Navajo community just east of the New Mexico-Arizona border is preparing for evacuation as winds whip a fire burning in the Chuska Mountains.

Tribal police were working on notifying hundreds of residents in the hills surrounding the Naschitti chapter house on Monday, while chapter employees spread word of the approaching fire through social media.

Employee Carol Edison says smoke from the Assayii Lake Fire was right over Naschitti but the flames were still several miles away.

Tribal officials say the fire has charred more than three square miles since first being reported Friday.

The blaze has also forced the closure of two roads in the area and the smoke has drifted as far as southern Colorado.

More than 250 firefighters and support personnel have been assigned to the fire, but their efforts have been hampered by the unfavorable weather.