At one point late Saturday afternoon, the fire's smoke column reached 30,000 feet (9,144 meters), creating the possibility that it could collapse on itself and create swirling winds close to the ground. Fire crews along part of the fire's western flank were warned of that potential hazard, fire spokesman Mike De Fries said.
Wildfires have broken out this spring across multiple states in the western U.S., including California, Colorado and Arizona. Predictions for the rest of the spring do not bode well for the West, with drought and warmer weather brought on by climate change worsening wildfire danger.
Nationwide, more than 2,000 square miles (5,180 square kilometers) have burned so far this year — the most at this point since 2018, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
In Colorado, a fire burning southwest of Colorado Springs grew to 1.5 square miles (3.8 square kilometers) overnight and is 10% contained, officials from the Teller County Sheriff’s Office said Saturday morning.
The blaze, now known as the High Park Fire, broke out Thursday near the former mining town of Cripple Creek. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
By Thursday evening at least 120 people from 40 residences evacuated the area, the Teller County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook.
Officials say the fire could continue to grow as gusts are expected to reach as high as 35 mph (56 kph). Winds are expected to die down around 2 p.m. which could help firefighting efforts.
In New Mexico, the largest wildfire has a 500-mile (805-kilometer)) perimeter, longer than the distance between San Francisco and San Diego, and was just 27% contained. Another fire to the west near Los Alamos has burned 71 square miles (184 square kilometers) and was 23% contained.
Nearly 3,000 firefighters and other personnel are fighting the two fires.
Fire officials said the largest fire has destroyed at least 473 structures, including homes and other buildings. Lujan Grisham's office on Friday provided an updated estimate that 262 homes had been destroyed but stressed that authorities have been unable to safely enter many burned areas to assess damage.
In other developments, New Mexican House Republican leaders on Friday called for the state to join a federal investigation into the handling of the prescribed burn that started the worst blaze.
“It is our sincerest belief that the people of northern New Mexico deserve an impartial and detailed investigation conducted by parties other than those employed by the federal government,” the GOP lawmakers said in a letter to Lujan Grisham, a Democrat.
CaptionA storefront window announces a work hiatus on Thursday, May 12, 2022, as residents of Los Alamos, N.M., prepared to possibly flee a wildfire as it crept within a few miles of the city and companion national security laboratory. Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are using supercomputers and ingenuity to improve wildfire forecasting and forest management amid drought and climate change in the American West. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
Credit: Morgan Lee
Caption A storefront window announces a work hiatus on Thursday, May 12, 2022, as residents of Los Alamos, N.M., prepared to possibly flee a wildfire as it crept within a few miles of the city and companion national security laboratory. Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are using supercomputers and ingenuity to improve wildfire forecasting and forest management amid drought and climate change in the American West. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
Credit: Morgan Lee
Credit: Morgan Lee
Caption A haze of wildfire smoke hangs over the Upper Rio Grande valley behind the mesa-top city of Los Alamos, N.M., on Thursday, May 12, 2022. Public schools and many businesses were closed as a wildfire crept closer to the city and companion national security laboratory. Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are using supercomputers and ingenuity to improve wildfire forecasting and forest management amid drought and climate change in the American West. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
Credit: Morgan Lee
Caption A haze of wildfire smoke hangs over the Upper Rio Grande valley behind the mesa-top city of Los Alamos, N.M., on Thursday, May 12, 2022. Public schools and many businesses were closed as a wildfire crept closer to the city and companion national security laboratory. Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are using supercomputers and ingenuity to improve wildfire forecasting and forest management amid drought and climate change in the American West. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
Credit: Morgan Lee
Credit: Morgan Lee
Caption The Cerro Pelado Fire, seen Friday, May 6, 2022, from Cochiti, N.M, burns in the Jemez Mountains. (Robert Browman/Albuquerque Journal)/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)
Credit: Robert Browman
Caption The Cerro Pelado Fire, seen Friday, May 6, 2022, from Cochiti, N.M, burns in the Jemez Mountains. (Robert Browman/Albuquerque Journal)/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)
Credit: Robert Browman
Credit: Robert Browman
Caption Teenage boys wait for a public bus after a pickup game of soccer in Los Alamos, N.M., on Thursday, May 12, 2022, during a weeklong public school closure because of nearby wildfire. The blaze has been creeping closer to the mesa-top city and companion Los Alamos National Laboratory that analyzes global threats of disease, warfare and natural disasters. Scientists at Los Alamos are using supercomputers and ingenuity to improve wildfire forecasting and forest management amid drought and climate change in the American West. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
Credit: Morgan Lee
Caption Teenage boys wait for a public bus after a pickup game of soccer in Los Alamos, N.M., on Thursday, May 12, 2022, during a weeklong public school closure because of nearby wildfire. The blaze has been creeping closer to the mesa-top city and companion Los Alamos National Laboratory that analyzes global threats of disease, warfare and natural disasters. Scientists at Los Alamos are using supercomputers and ingenuity to improve wildfire forecasting and forest management amid drought and climate change in the American West. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
Credit: Morgan Lee
Credit: Morgan Lee
Caption Families flocked to a public park in downtown Los Alamos, N.M., on Thursday, May 12, 2022, during a weeklong public school closure because of nearby wildfire. The blaze crept has been creeping closer to the mesa-top city and companion Los Alamos National Laboratory that analyzes global threats of disease, warfare and natural disasters. Scientists at Los Alamos are using supercomputers and ingenuity to improve wildfire forecasting and forest management amid drought and climate change in the American West. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
Credit: Morgan Lee
Caption Families flocked to a public park in downtown Los Alamos, N.M., on Thursday, May 12, 2022, during a weeklong public school closure because of nearby wildfire. The blaze crept has been creeping closer to the mesa-top city and companion Los Alamos National Laboratory that analyzes global threats of disease, warfare and natural disasters. Scientists at Los Alamos are using supercomputers and ingenuity to improve wildfire forecasting and forest management amid drought and climate change in the American West. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
Credit: Morgan Lee
Credit: Morgan Lee
Caption A storefront window announces a weeklong work hiatus on Thursday, May 12, 2022, as residents of Los Alamos, N.M., prepared to possibly flee a wildfire as it crept within a few miles of the city and companion national security laboratory. Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are using supercomputers and ingenuity to improve wildfire forecasting and forest management amid drought and climate change in the American West. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
Credit: Morgan Lee
Caption A storefront window announces a weeklong work hiatus on Thursday, May 12, 2022, as residents of Los Alamos, N.M., prepared to possibly flee a wildfire as it crept within a few miles of the city and companion national security laboratory. Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are using supercomputers and ingenuity to improve wildfire forecasting and forest management amid drought and climate change in the American West. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)
Credit: Morgan Lee
Credit: Morgan Lee
Caption This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the active fire lines of the Hermits Peak wildfire, in Las Vegas, New Mexico, on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. Wildfire in the West is on a furious pace early this year. Wind-driven flames tearing through vegetation that is extraordinarily dry from years-long drought exacerbated by climate change has made even small blazes a threat to life and property. (Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies via AP)
Credit: Uncredited
Caption This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows the active fire lines of the Hermits Peak wildfire, in Las Vegas, New Mexico, on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. Wildfire in the West is on a furious pace early this year. Wind-driven flames tearing through vegetation that is extraordinarily dry from years-long drought exacerbated by climate change has made even small blazes a threat to life and property. (Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies via AP)
Credit: Uncredited
Credit: Uncredited
Caption Firefighters and residents stand on a fire road where the Coastal Fire jumped and burned several homes Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Laguna Niguel, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez
Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez
Caption Firefighters and residents stand on a fire road where the Coastal Fire jumped and burned several homes Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Laguna Niguel, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez
Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez
Caption A plane drops fire retardant onto the Coastal Fire Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Laguna Niguel, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez
Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez
Caption A plane drops fire retardant onto the Coastal Fire Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Laguna Niguel, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez
Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez
Caption Sassan Darian holds his cat Cyrus as he stands in front of his family's fire-damaged home in the aftermath of the Coastal Fire Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Laguna Niguel, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez
Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez
Caption Sassan Darian holds his cat Cyrus as he stands in front of his family's fire-damaged home in the aftermath of the Coastal Fire Thursday, May 12, 2022, in Laguna Niguel, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez
Credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez
