Firefighters battle N.M. wildfire

RESERVE, N.M. - A wildfire has burned thousands of acres of a national forest in New Mexico, creeping within four miles of 20 summer homes and cabins. <br> <br> Firefighters struggled Thursday to control the lightning-caused fire, which had burned 37,000 acres in southwestern New Mexico. <br> <br> Residents of the homes and cabins in the Elk Springs subdivision voluntarily evacuated Wednesday. The area appeared to have been spared, but the flames threatened the homes again Thursday. <br> <br> Firefighters on Sunday had decided to keep a close watch on the 100-acre fire while allowing it to burn brush. But it roared out of control Wednesday morning and had scorched 10,000 acres by nightfall.<br> <br> Over the next 24 hours, the blazed moved east and north across another 25,000 acres. <br> <br> ``It has kind of ballooned out,&#39;&#39; Gila National Forest spokeswoman Loretta Ray said. <br> <br> Some roads in the 500,000-acre national forest were closed as air tankers dropped fire-retardant slurry on the fast-moving flames. <br> <br> Last week, a fire roared through a subdivision in the Sacramento Mountains in New Mexico, forcing the evacuation of 1,300 people and destroying 28 homes. No one was injured. <br> <br> With conditions dry and snowpack light, New Mexico&#39;s fire season has come several weeks early. In 2000, the state reported 2,466 fires covering 519,177 acres. Last year, 1,649 fires burned 38,890 acres. From Jan. 1 through March 20 this year, 61 fires burned 2,279 acres.

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