The deadly McBride Fire in southern New Mexico grew to more than 6,100 acres Saturday and evacuation orders remained in place in several areas, officials said.
The blaze, burning in Lincoln County, started four days ago and has since torched more than 200 homes, fire authorities said in a Saturday update. It remained 0% contained, and the area continues to be under a high fire risk through at least Sunday, as dry and breezy conditions are expected to continue unabated, CNN meteorologist Gene Norman said. Two people were killed in the blaze, state police said in a news release earlier this week. Firefighters fought flames Tuesday at a home in the village of Ruidoso, roughly an 180-mile drive southeast of Albuquerque, the release said. That evening, local police learned an elderly couple attempted to evacuate the fire was « unaccounted for by family members, » the release said. Authorities located remains of two people at the home the next day, state police said. Others in the village told CNN affiliate KFOX the flames caught them by surprise. Mary Smith’s 83-year-old husband called her after he woke up to find their neighborhood was being swallowed by the blaze. « He said, ‘honey everything is burning around us, I’ve got to get out of here,’ » Mary Smith told the affiliate.
