Fires raze homes in two mountain towns

MAYHILL, N.M. (KRQE) - After the entire village of Mayhill was evacuated to save lives during a massive, vicious forest fire, residents are waiting for word on whether their homes were among those lost as flames swept through.

Meanwhile residents of Queen, who thought they'd dodged a bullet with a recent forest fire, fled their homes overnight when a new fire erupted near their community.

The two villages are about 60 air miles apart in the Sacramento Mountains of southern New Mexico.

Early Tuesday morning fire managers gathered for a briefing at the Mayhill Fire Department with an update for the news media expected to follow.

(Update 3 p.m. MDT: Firefighters are credited with saving Mayhill village although three homes on its fringe were destroyed.  Evacuations lifted although the fire remains active.)

At last report the Mayhill Fire had grown to 2,000 acres and was only 10 percent contained. The fire of unknown origin was reported along U.S. Highway 82 about 2 p.m. Monday.

It didn't take long for the flames to approach the village.

Several homes were lost, and residents told News 13 they only had a couple of minutes to get everything they needed and then had to get out.

"We were at our cabin. We saw smoke." Mike Orr said. "We went to investigate, and we could see the flames.

"I understand they got pretty close, but again we haven't been there to see.>

Another longtime resident of Mayhill said he was shocked by the devastation, but also the fact that firefighters were able to save more homes near the ones that were destroyed.

The flames burned along U.S. 82 hopping the road a few times and burning around the village.

Much of the center of the village was protected.

The wind remained breezy and blustery through the night and is expected to pick up during the day Tuesday.

But something that likely helped the firefighters is the drop in temperatures.

At least one person spent the night at an evacuation shelter at the Cloudcroft High School.

Many other residents said they were going to seek shelter in Alamogordo.

At around midnight fire departments in Eddy County responded to a fire near Queen about 40 miles southwest of Carlsbad. New Mexico State Forestry reported one home had been destroyed and others damaged.

The fire commander estimated 50 people had been asked to leave their homes.

The fire is located between State Road 137 and Forest Road 525 in the area of the recent Last Chance Fire, which spared the community but swept through the Sitting Bull Falls recreation area destroying buildings and structures there.

There was no early estimate on the size of the fire.

Carlsbad school bus routes to Queen have been canceled.

And those are not the only fires keeping crews busy.

One in Lea County is estimated at 3,000 acres and growing with one ranch home threatened.

And a blaze near Encino along U.S. Highways 285 and 60 stood at about 500 acres at last report. It was not threatening any structures.

In the Gila National Forest the 33,000-acre Miller Fire, which started last week north of Silver City, continues to grow.

About 35 homeowners at Gila Hot Springs have been asked to evacuate.

State Road 15 and campgrounds and trails in the area remain closed.

Fire crews were staged to protect the community and the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument and visitor center.

News 13 and KRQE.com will continue following the wildfires burning across the state updating this report as information becomes available.