Nearly 300 buildings damaged or destroyed in Calf Canyon, Hermits Peak fires

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Crews are finally getting a better look at the area scorched by two massive wildfires northwest of Las Vegas, New Mexico. Officials say the fires damaged or destroyed more than 150 homes, and that number could get higher.

Along State Road 518, firefighters fought to slow the blaze—dropping water from the sky and working on the ground to contain the Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon fires after they combined, to keep them from jumping the highway this week.

Now, law enforcement and government agencies are out in the field, assessing the damage in a rugged area that stretches over San Miguel and Mora Counties.

“As of this morning, we have assessed 1223 properties. Of those 1223, 277 buildings are visibly damaged or destroyed,” says Joy Ansley, San Miguel County manager, “Of those, 166 residences, 108 outbuildings— which includes garages, barns, other types of outbuildings—and three commercial buildings.” Most of this devastation is caused by the Calf Canyon Fire. Ansley says the Hermits Peak Fire burned down one semi-permanent residence and five outbuildings.

However, these numbers may grow. “This is big country out here. There’s lots of back roads so, it’s possible that we’ll find more but we’re confident that we’ve got most of them,” Ansley says. They’ve begun the difficult process of letting property owners know about the damage.

“…It’s kind of a tedious process because we’ve got to find owners, find contacts, and get ahold of them because most of them are evacuated right now,” Ansley says, “We want the residents who have been allowed to go back into their homes—we want them to stay alert; to pay attention to our press releases. We have a couple of high wind days coming up, today and tomorrow, and we want everyone to remain on high alert.”

Officials say at this point, they don’t believe anyone was hurt or killed in the fires.