Smoke from the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire in New Mexico.
Smoke from the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire drifts over Las Vegas, N.M., on Saturday, May 7, 2022. | Robert Browman, The Albuquerque Journal via Associated Press

By Aaron Shill

Aaron Shill is the managing editor of the Deseret News.

Evacuations were ordered in Montrose, Colorado, due to a wildfire burning south of the Western Colorado community, and the nation’s largest wildfire continues to burn in New Mexico.

Wildfires in Colorado

The Simms fire (370 acres burned, Montrose County, no containment status, cause undetermined) is one of five incidents in the state of Colorado.

  • Montrose has a population of about 20,000. The fire was first reported Thursday afternoon, and according to 9News.com, the U.S. Forest Service “said they were conducting a prescribed burn in the area Monday.”
  • The largest incident in Colorado is the High Park fire (1,572 acres burned, no containment status, no cause reported).

Wildfires in New Mexico

The nation’s largest fire (and the largest fire in state history) continues to burn in New Mexico. The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon fire has now burned 303,341 acres. Its cause and containment status are now labeled by the U.S. Forest Service as “not reported.” The wildfire is the product of two fires that merged, one of which was the result of spot fires from a prescribed burn.

It’s one of two Type 1 fires in New Mexico, along with the Cerro Pelado fire (45,605 acres burned, containment not reported, cause not reported).

There are also two Type 2 fires in the state.

Other wildfires in New Mexico include:

  • Black fire (Type 2): 93,014 acres burned, Catron County, no containment status, cause undetermined.
  • Bear Trap fire (Type 2): 19,148 acres burned, containment not reported, cause not reported.

Is your home in danger of wildfire?

Concern and discussion over wildfire season heated up this week when the nonprofit First Street Foundation released a map showing that more than 70 million properties in the United States are at some risk of wildfire.

According to the Washington Post, “an estimated 16 percent of the country’s population today lives in hazardous areas.”