Ute Park Fire burns 27,000+ acres in New Mexico as crews work to contain it

A massive fire in Colfax County, New Mexico, had grown to 27,290 acres by Saturday morning and was 0% contained, according to InciWeb. Nearly 450 personnel were battling that fire.

A mandatory evacuation order was in place for the town of Cimarron, where 296 structures were threatened by the blaze, called the Ute Park Fire, InciWeb said.

Jim Smith told CNN he noticed the fire on a hill above his home in the nearby village of Eagle Nest. At the time, he thought it was a small trash fire.

“It’s been so dry here that once a fire starts in our part of the country, it expands rapidly,” he said.

Teachers cook for first responders on the scene of the Ute Park Fire in New Mexico.

“By the time I got home, in about 15 minutes, it was covering probably four square blocks. And half an hour later, almost a square mile.”

Smith and his family voluntarily evacuated, he said. It’ll be another day or so before they’ll feel safe returning home, he said.

So far, about 14 outbuildings have been destroyed at the Philmont Scout Ranch, according to the US Forest Service. The ranch, which belongs to the Boy Scouts of America, had already been evacuated by the time the fire closed in on it.

Forest Service spokeswoman Judith Dyess told CNN on Saturday morning that the fire was roughly 3 miles from Cimarron and burning in that direction. High winds, which could exacerbate the blaze, are forecast for Saturday, she said.