5,000 under evacuation orders as New Mexico wildfire rages – By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
Douglas Siddens' mother was among those who made it out with just the clothes on her back when a deadly, wind-fueled wildfire ripped through a mountain community in southern New Mexico.
The RV park where she lived was reduced to "metal frame rails and steel wheels," said Siddens, who managed the site
"I had like 10 people displaced. They lost their homes and everything, including my mom," he said.
The fire has destroyed more than 200 homes and killed two people since it broke out Tuesday near the village Ruidoso, a vacation spot that draws thousands of tourists and horse racing fans every summer.
Hundreds of homes and summer cabins dot the surrounding mountainsides. The RV park that Siddens managed is near where an elderly couple was found dead this week outside their charred residence.
Elsewhere in the U.S., crews have been battling large fires this week in Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado, where a new blaze forced evacuations Friday along the Rocky Mountain's eastern front near Lyons about 18 miles (29 kilometers) north of Boulder.
That fire was burning in the Blue Mountains near the Larimer-Boulder county line about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Estes Park, the east entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.
In New Mexico, power was restored to all but a few hundred customers, but evacuation orders for close to 5,000 people remained in place.
Donations poured in from surrounding communities all too familiar with just how devastating wildfires can be.
It was a decade ago that fire ripped through part of the village of Ruidoso, putting the vacation spot on the map with the most destructive wildfire in New Mexico's recorded history when more than 240 homes burned and nearly 70 square miles (181 square kilometers) of forest were blackened by a lightning-sparked blaze.
On Friday, Mayor Lynn Crawford was rallying heartbroken residents once again as firefighters tried to keep wind-whipped flames from making another run at the village. She said the response from their neighbors has been amazing.
"So we have plenty of food, we have plenty of clothes, those kinds of things but we still appreciate and need your prayers and your thoughts," the mayor said during a briefing. "Again, our hearts go out to the family of the deceased, to those that have lost their homes."
Authorities have yet to release the names of the couple who died. Their bodies were found after worried family members contacted police, saying the couple had planned to evacuate Tuesday when the fire exploded but were unaccounted for later that day.
While many older residents call Ruidoso home year round, the population of about 8,000 people expands to about 25,000 during the summer months as Texans and New Mexicans from hotter climates seek respite.
Fans also flock to Ruidoso Downs, home to one of the sport's richest quarter-horse competitions. The racing season was expected to start May 27, and horses that board there aren't in any danger as fire officials use the facility as a staging ground.
Part-time residents have taken to social media over the last few days, pleading with fire officials for updates on certain neighborhoods, hoping their family cabins weren't among those damaged or destroyed.
The hotlines lit up Friday afternoon as people in the village called in to report more smoke. Fire information officer Mike DeFries said that was because there were flare-ups within the interior of the fire as the flames found pockets of unburned fuel.
While the fire didn't make any runs at the lines crews had established, he said it was still a tough day for firefighters due to single-digit humidity, warmer temperatures and the wind.
Authorities reiterated that it was still too early to start letting people in to see the damage. They asked for patience as fire crews put out hot spots and tried to build a stronger perimeter around the blaze.
"It's still an active fire area in there and it's not a safe place," DeFries said. "It's going to require patience. At the same time, every step that we're taking is designed to suppress this fire and to get people back home as soon as possible."
New Mexico authorities said they suspect the fire, which has torched more than 9.5 square miles (24 square kilometers) of forest and grass, was sparked by a downed power line and the investigation continued Friday.
Hotter and drier weather coupled with decades of fire suppression have contributed to an increase in the number of acres burned by wildfires, fire scientists say. The problem is exacerbated by a more than 20-year Western megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change.
Biden increases oil royalty rate, scales back lease sales – By Matthew Brown, Associated Press
The Interior Department on Friday said it's moving forward with the first onshore sales of public oil and natural gas drilling leases under President Joe Biden, but will sharply increase royalty rates for companies as federal officials weigh efforts to fight climate change against pressure to bring down high gasoline prices.
The royalty rate for new leases will increase to 18.75% from 12.5%. That's a 50% jump and marks the first increase to royalties for the federal government since they were imposed in the 1920s.
Biden suspended new leasing just a week after taking office in January 2021. A federal judge in Louisiana ordered the sales to resume, saying Interior officials had offered no "rational explanation" for canceling them.
The government held an offshore lease auction in the Gulf of Mexico in November, although a court later blocked that sale before the leases were issued.
Friday's announcement comes amid pressure for Biden to expand U.S. crude production as the pandemic and war in Ukraine roil the global economy and fuel prices have spiked. The Democrat faces calls from within his own party to do more to curb emissions from fossil fuels that are driving climate change.
Leases for 225 square miles (580 square kilometers) of federal lands primarily in the West will be offered for sale in a notice to be posted on Monday, officials said. The parcels represent about 30 % less land than officials had proposed for sale in November and 80% less than what was originally nominated by the industry.
The sales notices will cover leasing decisions in nine states — Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Montana, Alabama, Nevada, North Dakota and Oklahoma.
Interior Department officials declined to specify which states would have parcels for sale or to give a breakdown of the amount of land by state, saying that information would be included in Monday's sales notices. They said the reduced area being offered reflects a focus on leasing in locations near existing oil and gas development including pipelines.
Hundreds of parcels of public land that companies nominated for leasing had been previously dropped from the upcoming lease sale because of concerns about wildlife being harmed by drilling rigs.
At the time, officials said burning fuel from the remaining leases could cost billions of dollars in climate change impacts. Fossil fuels extracted from public lands account for about 20% of energy-related U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, making them a prime target for climate activists who want to shut down leasing.
Republicans want more drilling, saying it would increase U.S. energy independence and help bring down the cost of crude. But oil companies have been hesitant to expand drilling because of uncertainty over how long high prices will continue.
Friday's announcement comes after Interior officials had raised the prospect of higher royalty rates and less land available for drilling in a leasing reform report issued last year.
"For too long, the federal oil and gas leasing programs have prioritized the wants of extractive industries," said Secretary Deb Haaland. "Today, we begin to reset how and what we consider to be the highest and best use of Americans' resources."
But the move brought condemnation from both ends of the political spectrum: Environmentalists derided the decision to hold the long-delayed sales, while oil industry representatives said the higher royalty rates would deter drilling.
Nicole Ghio with the environmental group Friends of the Earth said Biden was putting oil industry profits ahead of future generations that will have to deal with the worsening consequences of climate change.
"If Biden wants to be a climate leader, he must stop auctioning off our public lands to Big Oil," Ghio said in an emailed statement.
American Petroleum Institute Vice President Frank Macchiarola said officials had removed some of the most significant parcels that companies wanted to drill while adding "new barriers" that would discourage companies from investing in drilling on public lands.
Lease sales and royalties that companies pay on extracted oil and gas brought in more than $83 billion in revenue over the past decade. Half the money from onshore drilling goes to the state where it occurred.
Most states and many private landowners require companies to pay royalty rates higher than 12.5%, with some states charging 20% or more, according to federal officials.
The royalty rate for oil produced from federal reserves in deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico is 18.75%. In the November auction that was later canceled, energy companies including Shell, BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil offered a combined $192 million for offshore drilling rights in the Gulf.
New leases that are developed could keep producing crude long past 2030, when Biden has set a goal to lower greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50%, compared with 2005 levels. Scientists say the world needs to be well on the way to that goal over the next decade to avoid catastrophic climate change.
Economists say a higher royalty rate would have a relatively small effect on global emissions, because any reductions in oil and gas from federal lands would be largely offset by fuel from other sources.
New Mexico village seeks prayers as deadly wildfire rages – By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
With towering pine trees and cool mountain breezes, a pocket of southern New Mexico draws thousands of tourists and horse racing fans every summer. It's also a community that knows how devastating wildfires can be.
It was a decade ago that fire ripped through part of the village of Ruidoso, putting the vacation spot on the map with the most destructive wildfire in New Mexico's recorded history when more than 240 homes burned and nearly 70 square miles (181 square kilometers) of forest were blackened by a lightning-sparked blaze.
Now, Mayor Lynn Crawford is rallying heartbroken residents once again as firefighters on Friday tried to keep wind-whipped flames from making another run at the village and the hundreds of homes and summer cabins that dot the surrounding mountainsides.
More than 200 homes already have burned, and an elderly couple was found dead this week outside their charred residence. While power has been restored to all but a few hundred customers in the area, evacuations for close to 5,000 people remain in place.
Crawford said the village is overflowing with donations from surrounding communities.
"So we have plenty of food, we have plenty of clothes, those kinds of things but we still appreciate and need your prayers and your thoughts," the mayor said during a briefing. "Again, our hearts go out to the family of the deceased, to those that have lost their homes."
Authorities have yet to release the names of the couple who died. Their bodies were found after worried family members contacted police, saying the couple had planned to evacuate Tuesday when the fire exploded but were unaccounted for later that day.
Near where the bodies were recovered, in Gavilan Canyon, the fire reduced homes to ash and metal. An 18-home RV park was completely destroyed.
"I had like 10 people displaced, they lost their homes and everything, including my mom," said Douglas Siddens, who managed the park.
Siddens said his mother was at work when the fire broke out "with just the clothes she had on and that's all she has left."
Everyone got out of the RV park safely before the flames hit but "it's completely leveled. Like, all that's left are metal frame rails and steel wheels," Siddens said.
While many older residents call Ruidoso home year round, the population of about 8,000 people expands to about 25,000 during the summer months as Texans and New Mexicans from hotter climates come seeking respite. Horse races at the Ruidoso Downs also draw crowds, as it's home to one of the sport's richest quarter-horse competitions. The racing season was expected to start May 27, and horses that board there aren't in any danger as fire officials use the facility as a staging ground.
Part-time residents have taken to social media over the last few days, pleading with fire officials for updates on certain neighborhoods, hoping their family cabins weren't among those damaged or destroyed.
The hotlines lit up Friday afternoon as people in the village called in to report more smoke. Fire information officer Mike DeFries said that was because there were flare-ups within the interior of the fire as the flames found pockets of unburned fuel.
While the fire didn't make any runs at the lines crews had established, he said it was still a tough day for firefighters due to single-digit humidity, warmer temperatures and the wind.
Authorities reiterated that it was still too early to start letting people in to see the damage. They asked for patience as fire crews continued to put out hot spots and tried to build a stronger perimeter around the blaze.
"It's still an active fire area in there and it's not a safe place," DeFries said. "It's going to require patience. At the same time, every step that we're taking is designed to suppress this fire and to get people back home as soon as possible."
New Mexico authorities said they suspect the fire, which has torched more than 9.5 square miles (24 square kilometers) of forest and grass, was sparked by a downed power line and the investigation continued Friday.
Elsewhere in the U.S., large fires were reported this week in Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma.
Hotter and drier weather coupled with decades of fire suppression have contributed to an increase in the number of acres burned by wildfires, fire scientists say. The problem is exacerbated by a more than 20-year Western megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change.
The National Interagency Fire Center reported Thursday that since the start of the year, 18,550 wildfires have burned about 1,250 square miles (3,237 square kilometers). That's well above the 10-year U.S. average of 12,290 wildfires and 835 square miles (2163 square kilometers) burned for the same period.
New details in officer-involved killing of shooting suspect – Associated Press
Albuquerque police have released more details about last month's officer-involved fatal shooting of a man suspected of firing shots into vehicles driving near his home in the Foothils area, killing one person and injuring two others.
Three officers responding to reports of an "active shooter" March 14 approached John Dawson, 52, after he exited the house about 40 minutes after the shootings. They were under the impression Hunter was surrendering but he "suddenly got to his feet and advanced on the officers," police said Friday.
Three bean-bag rounds were deployed before Hunter began to pick up one of two handguns on the ground, "at which time three officers discharged their rifles," police said.
The officers fired 12 shots. At least one struck Hunter, killing him.
Police spokesman Gilbert Gallego said earlier investigators believed Hunter was suffering from some sort of mental crisis when he started shooting randomly at people. Alicia Hall was shot and killed in her van at a stop sign at Montgomery Boulevard and Glenwood Hills NE.
One of the officers was involved in two prior officer-involved shootings — Randy Serrano, who joined the force in 2017, police said Friday.
The other two had not been involved in such shootings since joining the department, Derek Taylor in 2017 and Greg Doose in 2009.
Texas halts truck inspections that caused border gridlock – By Paul J. Weber, Associated Press
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday repealed his traffic-clogging immigration order that backed up commercial trucks at the U.S.-Mexico border, after a week of intensifying backlash and fears of deepening economic losses.
The Republican governor dropped his new rules that had required all commercial trucks from Mexico to undergo extra inspections to curb the flow of migrants and drugs and ratcheted up a fight with the Biden administration over immigration policy.
Some truckers reported waiting more than 30 hours to cross. Others blocked one of the world's busiest trade bridges in protest.
Abbott, who is up for reelection in November and has made the border his top issue, fully lifted the inspections after reaching agreements with neighboring Mexican states that he says outline new commitments to border security. The last one was signed with the governor of Tamaulipas, who earlier this week said the inspections were overzealous and created havoc. On Friday, he joined Abbott and said they were ready to work together.
When Abbott first ordered the inspections, he did not say lifting them was conditional on such arrangements with Mexico.
Pressure was building on Abbott to retreat as gridlock on the border worsened. The American Trucking Association called the inspections "wholly flawed, redundant and adding considerable weight on an already strained supply chain." One customs agency in Mexico estimated the losses at millions of dollars a day, and produce distributors warned of empty shelves and higher prices if the order was not rescinded soon.
Abbot acknowledged the trade slowdowns but showed no sign of regret. He said he was prepared to reimpose the inspections if Mexican states don't hold up their end of the deal.
"I'm not hesitant to do so whatsoever," Abbott said.
The U.S.-Mexico border is crucial to the U.S. economy and more of it is in Texas — roughly 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers) — than any other state. The United States last year imported $390.7 billion worth of goods from Mexico, second only to China.
Trucks are inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents upon entering the country. Texas began its own inspections after the Biden administration said pandemic-related restrictions on claiming asylum at the border would be lifted May 23.
Abbott called the inspections a "zero tolerance policy for unsafe vehicles" smuggling migrants. He said Texas would take several steps in response to the end of the asylum restrictions, which is expected to lead to an increase in migrants coming to the border.
State troopers inspected more than 6,000 commercial vehicles over the past week, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Nearly 1 in 4 trucks were pulled off the road for what the agency described as serious violations that included defective tires and brakes.
Troopers did not turn up any human or drug trafficking during the inspections, said Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw. He described it as unsurprising, saying cartels knew the inspections were taking place.
But migrants are stopped at ports of entry in only about 5% of CBP encounters. The vast majority cross in mountains, deserts and cities between official crossings.
The dynamic with drug seizures is different, with fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and other hard narcotics being seized overwhelmingly at official crossings instead of between them. Their compact size and lack of odor make them extremely difficult to detect.
Abbott has also chartered buses to Washington, D.C., for migrants who wanted to go. The first drop-offs happened Wednesday, drawing criticism from the Biden administration. On Thursday, CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said Texas was moving migrants without "adequately coordinating" with the federal government.