Cause of 17-acre grass fire west of Capitan under investigation
A portion of U.S. 380 from Capitan west toward Carrizozo was closed for a few hours
- Fire departments responded quickly and confined the blaze
A grass fire, driven by wind, jumped U.S. Highway 380 west of Capitan about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Capitan police alerted homeowners in the area about a possible evacuation, but firefighters from numerous departments in Lincoln County converged on the scene and confined the blaze to about 17 acres. No structures were damaged and no evacuations were necessary. Officials closed a section of Highway 380 for a few hours and then escorted vehicles through the charred area where smoke still was heavy.
"The cause is under investigation," Sheriff Robert Shepperd said. "I'm sending our wildland investigator to take a look. If it's negligence, like a controlled burn that got away, we can bring charges. I checked and no one had called in a controlled burn."
County law requires anyone anticipating a controlled burn to alert the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office in advance. The county, as with most of New Mexico, has received little precipitation this winter and fire officials jump on reported flames quickly to ensure they do not spread in the brittle grass.
Shepperd said the wind stayed steady to the north. The fire was stopped at the county roads, giving the volunteer fire departments time to respond. Several people called 911 to report the smoke and flames, he said.
Most of the burned area was on the south side of the highway, only a quarter of an acre burned on the north side, Shepperd said.
Responding to the fire dispatch were units from the Bonito Volunteer Fire Department, the U.S. Forest Service, the Capitan Fire Department, the Ruidoso Fire Department, and the Hondo and Fort Stanton volunteer departments, the sheriff said.
"Nogal Volunteer Fire was responding, but had to be diverted when we received a report of a structure fire in their jurisdiction," Shepperd said. "It turned out to be a shed that caught on fire."