Crews brace for strong winds, explosive fire growth in West — Felicia Fonesca, Associated Press
Firefighters fanned out across blackened landscape in Arizona's high country, digging into the ground to put out smoldering tree stumps and roots as helicopters buzzed overhead with buckets of water to drop on a massive blaze.
The work has been tedious and steady — all with the recognition that already strong winds will become stronger Friday and a shift over the weekend could turn the blaze up hillsides or toward homes on the outskirts of Flagstaff.
The 32-square-mile (83-square kilometer) blaze is one of a half-dozen major wildfires that have raced across Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado over the past week. Forecasters have warned that warm weather, little to no precipitation and spring winds create a dangerous recipe for wildfires.
Those elements are "pretty much on steroids in the atmosphere for tomorrow," said Scott Overpeck with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "And by that we mean they are really cranked up. Everything is overlapping together at the same time."
The Flagstaff-area fire was expected to keep growing Friday, fanned by the wind, said Jerolyn Byrne, a spokeswoman for the team working the blaze.
Neither officials nor residents have been able to fully survey the damage, as crews on Thursday were busy wrestling a spot fire and trying to keep flames from running up the mountainside. If that were to happen, it would mean a much bigger fire with long-term consequences such as erosion and flooding.
Still, spirits were lifted Thursday as helicopters for the first time were able to start dropping water on the flames.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday declared a state of emergency in Flagstaff's Coconino County. The declaration clears the way for state funding for evacuations, shelter, repairs and other expenses. However, the money can't be used to reimburse home and business owners for losses.
About 30 structures have been destroyed, but it's still unclear how many were homes, the county sheriff's office said Thursday.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated because of wildfires burning in the Southwest. Popular lakes and national monuments closed in Arizona — including Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument outside Flagstaff because the wildfire moved directly over it, blackening trees, and burning tools and vehicles in a maintenance yard, said monument spokesman Richard Ullmann.
The Coconino National Forest has closed where the wildfire is burning but has not enacted broader fire restrictions or closures. A sign at a gate warns of potential loose debris, falling trees and branches, and flash floods.
Fire restrictions go into effect Friday at National Park Service sites in New Mexico, including Valles Caldera National Preserve and Bandelier National Monument.
Wildfire has become a year-round threat in the West given changing conditions that include earlier snowmelt and rain coming later in the fall, scientist have said. The problems are exacerbated by decades of fire suppression and poor forest management along with a more than 20-year megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change.
Residents around Flagstaff — a year-round attraction for recreation, respite from desert heat, and Northern Arizona University — questioned how a small blaze reported northeast of the college town Sunday afternoon ballooned in a matter of days. Matt McGrath, a district ranger on the Coconino National Forest, said firefighters had corralled the wildfire Sunday and didn't see any smoke or active flames when they checked on it again Monday.
By Tuesday, the wind was firmly in control. Flames emerged and jumped the containment line. Residents in some 765 homes were evacuated, along with 1,000 animals from the rural neighborhoods.
The fire's cause hasn't been determined. Investigators were at the site Thursday off a bumpy, gravel and dirt U.S. Forest Service road. In the distance, a large plume of grayish smoke rose over the surrounding hills. Snow still sat atop other mountains.
Smoldering stumps, scorched grass and charred trees dotted the area near where the wildfire started.
Preston Mercer, a fire management specialist with the Coconino National Forest, remembers standing on the same patch of ground in 2010, fighting another large blaze. Like that one, this fire has been taking advantage of dry vegetation and fierce winds.
"The environment is not very friendly. It was blowing 70 mph. Rocks were hitting everybody in the face. It was very smoky and we were working directly in the heat," he said Thursday from the fire line. "These guys are working incredibly hard. They know the values at risk. This is their community."
Crews nearby were focused on a 100-acre (40-hectare) spot fire that broke away from the main blaze toward hills that overlook nearby homes. One firefighter repeatedly swung a scraping tool as winds howled and smoke swirled through the air to reveal smoldering tree roots. He removed his glove and reached his hand into the ground to ensure it was cool before moving on and repeating the process.
In neighboring New Mexico, crews were battling several fires, including two that had forced a small number of evacuations and one that was threatening natural gas and telecommunications lines.
In Colorado, firefighters got a handle on two small wildfires in the southern and northern part of the state while contending with strong winds.
The Boulder County blaze was sparked by the battery of a crashed drone that researchers were using to study severe weather, the sheriff's office said Thursday. Researchers used a fire extinguisher, but the fire spread quickly in high winds, authorities said. The other fire damaged or destroyed an estimated 15 structures, including homes, in Monte Vista, a community of about 4,150 people surrounded by farm fields, police said Thursday.
Rocky Opliger, the incident commander on a wildfire that has forced evacuations south of Prescott, Arizona, said conditions are some of the worst he's seen in nearly five decades of fighting wildland fires.
"This is very early to have this kind of fire behavior," he said. "Right now we are on the whims of weather."
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Associated Press writers Paul Davenport in Phoenix, Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report.
Sen. Luján '90%' recovered from stroke, visits high school — Cedar Attanasio, Associated Press / Report for America
U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Luján has mostly recovered from his January stroke, and said voters, not his health scare, will decide who represents New Mexico.
"I'm feeling strong. I'm still not 100% but I think I'm over 90%," said Luján, 49, on a Thursday tour of Santa Fe High School.
He toured the campus in red Converse sneakers and, along with U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, talked with students in a closed meeting at the campus library and listened as they shared their struggles with mental health.
New Mexico children lost caretakers at a higher rate during the pandemic than most other states, according to a December report from the Covid Collaborative. An estimated 1,600 children in the state lost a caregiver, and the rate was 10 times higher for Native American children.
"They suffered loss — family members, friends — and we need to make sure we reimagine our schools to be schools that provide a social-emotional support," Cardona said.
Cardona said it was his 32nd state visit as Education Secretary for the Biden administration. He urged the states to prioritize mental health support with the $1 billion in funding directed at schools in New Mexico from federal pandemic relief.
"I know our rural communities are often dealing with different challenges. And I want to make sure that the funds through the American Rescue Plan meet them where they are," Cardona said.
Luján's recovery from the stroke is a relief for Democrats who barely hold power in the evenly divided Senate, thanks only to the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. The White House agenda was thrown into peril when Luján's stroke was first revealed.
Luján credited hospital staff, prayer and a positive attitude for his quick recovery. After returning to Congress in March, he held his first public events in New Mexico this week, starting in Albuquerque on Tuesday. He said he's also been doing work at his family farm and walked to a church as part of an Easter pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó, a historic church in the northern part of the state.
Sen. Luján doesn't face reelection until 2026. He said his health scare won't cause him to retire before his term is up.
"I'm here as long as I have and earn the support of the people of New Mexico," Luján said. "They will decide who's going to serve them in the U.S. Senate."
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Cedar Attanasio contributed reporting from Santa Fe. Attanasio is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. Follow Attanasio on Twitter.
Crews brace for strong winds, explosive fire growth in West — Felecia Fonesca, Associated Press
Firefighters fanned out across blackened landscape in Arizona's high country, digging into the ground to put out smoldering tree stumps and roots as helicopters buzzed overhead with buckets of water to drop on a massive blaze.
The work has been tedious and steady — all with the recognition that already strong winds will become stronger Friday and a shift over the weekend could turn the blaze back toward a mountainous tourist town.
The 32-square-mile (83-square kilometer) blaze outside Flagstaff is one of a half-dozen major wildfires that have raced across Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado over the past week. Forecasters have warned that above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation combined with spring winds have elevated the chances for more catastrophic fires.
The elements needed for critical fire weather are "pretty much on steroids in the atmosphere for tomorrow," said Scott Overpeck with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque. "And by that we mean they are really cranked up. Everything is really overlapping together at the same time."
Red flag warnings were issued Thursday for much of northern Arizona and large portions of New Mexico as state and federal officials scrambled to get more crews on the front lines.
With expected wind conditions, "it will prove challenging to put in those containment lines to stop fire growth," said Jerolyn Byrne, a spokesperson for the team working the Flagstaff-area fire. "We'll see some growth on the fire."
Neither officials nor residents have been able to fully survey the damage near Flagstaff, as crews on Thursday were busy wrestling a spot fire and trying to keep the flames from running up the mountainside. If that were to happen, it would mean a much bigger fire with long-term consequences such as erosion and flooding.
Still, spirits were lifted Thursday as helicopters for the first time were able to start dropping water on the flames.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday declared a state of emergency in Flagstaff's Coconino County. The declaration clears the way for state funding to be used for evacuations, shelter, repairs and other expenses. However, the money can't be used to reimburse home and business owners for their losses.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated because of wildfires burning in the Southwest. Popular lakes and national monuments have been closed in Arizona — some because fire has moved directly over them. Local and federal land managers also have been imposing burn bans and fire restrictions on public lands.
Wildfire has become a year-round threat in the West given changing conditions that include earlier snowmelt and rain coming later in the fall, scientist have said. The problems are exacerbated by decades of fire suppression and poor forest management along with a more than 20-year megadrought that studies link to human-caused climate change.
Residents around Flagstaff questioned how a small blaze reported northeast of the college town Sunday afternoon ballooned to more than 30 square miles (77 square kilometers) in a matter of days. Matt McGrath, a district ranger on the Coconino National Forest, said firefighters had corralled the wildfire Sunday and didn't see any smoke or active flames when they checked on it again Monday.
By Tuesday, the wind was firmly in control. Flames emerged and jumped the containment line.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Smoldering stumps dotted the area where the fire was believed to have started.
Preston Mercer, a fire management specialist with the Coconino National Forest, remembers standing on the same patch of ground in 2010, fighting another large blaze. Like that one, this fire has been taking advantage of dry vegetation and fierce winds.
"The environment is not very friendly. It was blowing 70 mph. Rocks were hitting everybody in the face. It was very smoky and we were working directly in the heat," he said of the conditions this week. "These guys are working incredibly hard. They know the values at risk. This is their community."
In neighboring New Mexico, crews were battling several fires, including two that had forced a small number of evacuations and one that was threatening natural gas and telecommunication lines.
The fire danger also remained high in southern Colorado, where a wildfire destroyed an unknown number of homes on Wednesday in Monte Vista, a community of about 4,150 people surrounded by farm fields. Despite strong winds, firefighters stopped the fire from spreading by the evening but hot spots remained.
Officials there said they were still assessing the damage Thursday but noted that six families had been displaced by the fire.
About 25 structures have been lost in the Flagstaff-area fire. Coconino County officials late Wednesday pointed residents to a system where they could seek help with food, temporary housing and other needs. Some 765 homes were evacuated.
Rocky Opliger, the incident commander on a wildfire that has burned about 3 square miles (7 square kilometers) and forced evacuations south of Prescott, Arizona, said the conditions are some of the worst he's seen in nearly five decades of fighting wildland fires.
"This is very early to have this kind of fire behavior," he said. "Right now we are on the whims of weather."
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Associated Press writers Paul Davenport in Phoenix, Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, and Colleen Slevin in Denver contributed to this report.
Report: Fire training, equipment lacking at US nuclear dump — Susan Montoya Brown, Associated Press
The U.S. government's nuclear waste repository in New Mexico has major issues in fire training and firefighting vehicles, with its fleet in disrepair after years of neglect, according to an investigation by the U.S. Energy Department's Office of Inspector General.
The investigation was spurred by allegations regarding fire protection concerns at the repository, which is the backbone of a multibillion-dollar effort to clean up Cold War-era waste from past nuclear research and bomb making at national laboratories and defense sites across the U.S.
Investigators noted that the issues with the fire department training program went back to at least 2016. They pointed to an undeveloped training curriculum for the technical rescue program and claims by firefighters that their training needs weren't being met.
According to the inspector general's report, the issues persisted because the contractor that manages the repository inadequately addressed and closed recommendations from prior internal assessments that were aimed at fixing the deficiencies. The report also blamed inadequate oversight by Energy Department officials.
"WIPP has experienced growth with the number of buildings and employees since 2006 and is anticipated to operate beyond 2050. The next management and operating contractor must be able to provide effective emergency response at WIPP to protect lives, property and the environment," the Office of Inspector General stated.
Energy Department officials in a response to the inspector general said the agency has followed through with corrective actions and will continue to "'make progress on ensuring local fire departments and first responders have all necessary training and equipment to handle any event in relation to WIPP's operations."
Still, agency officials acknowledged there was more work to do.
The safety concerns come as New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and others voice opposition to expanding the types of radioactive waste that can be shipped to the repository. In a letter sent this month to U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, the first-term Democratic governor noted ongoing frustration regarding the lack of meaningful public engagement from federal officials on waste cleanup, shipments and long-term plans for the repository.
Just this month, the work of processing incoming waste shipments was temporarily halted after workers discovered radioactive liquid in a container sent from the Idaho National Laboratory.
The latest report from a federal oversight board also cited three recent incidents, including one in which a container from Los Alamos National Laboratory was placed underground without adequate analysis for its flammability. The container ended up posing no risk.
Nuclear Waste Partnership, the contractor that manages the repository, expanded its fire brigade to a department with full-time emergency responders following two emergencies in 2014. One was a fire involving a salt-hauling truck that was followed days later by a radiation release from a drum that had been inappropriately packed at Los Alamos.
The incidents prompted major policy and procedure overhauls related to the national cleanup program.
According to the inspector general, a 2019 review found that nearly half of the repository's firefighters had not participated in required live training for at least one year and that some had not participated in over two years. Another review in April 2021 found that not all firefighter training records were maintained in accordance with the hazardous waste permit issued by the state Environment Department.
In interviews, several firefighters told investigators that the majority of training was web-based as opposed to hands-on fire drills, vehicle extrications or rope training. The firefighters expressed concern that without adequate training, they would lose their skills.
As for the fire department's fleet, federal officials said they were in the process of revising maintenance procedures and that about $1.2 million was spent to purchase two new fire trucks in 2021.
Cannabis sales high on New mexico’s first legal 420—a Matthew Narvaiz, Albuquerque Journal
Over 2.2 million dollars… that's how much revenue New Mexican cannabis dispensaries raked in yesterday.
April 20th, known as 420 to cannabis users, is an unofficial holiday celebrating the esteemed plant, and sales figures reflected that, with dispensaries doubling their normal daily business, according to a report from the Albuquerque journal.
Medical patients and recreational patients both did about 1.1 million in sales yesterday, bringing the total for marijuana sales to 26.9 million dollars since sales began April first.
State officials said the sales are strong, and are led by adult use recreational sales, which are responsible for 15.2 million of that total. Medical sales account for 11.7 million dollars.
More Cubans immigrating to the US by crossing from Mexico - By Gisela Salomon Associated Press
For years after leaving Cuba, the mother of two tried to get her children and parents into the U.S. through legal channels.
Finally, she decided she wouldn't wait any longer: She paid more than $40,000 dollars to someone to help them sneak in through Mexico.
"I said to myself, `Enough. I am going to risk everything,'" said the 30-year-old woman, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from U.S. authorities.
Her family's story is an example of what tens of thousands of Cuban immigrants looking to escape political and economic troubles are going through as more risk their lives and arrive illegally in the United States. It's a very different reality from years ago, when Cubans enjoyed special protections that other immigrants did not have.
Her children and parents undertook a 20-day journey, starting with a plane ride from Havana to Managua, Nicaragua. From there, they took buses, vans and taxis across Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, until they arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border.
"I saw that other people were coming through the border and they were happy, and I, who had done things legally, was still waiting for my children," the woman said.
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CUBA AND NICARAGUA
U.S. border authorities encountered Cubans almost 32,400 times in March, according to figures released Monday. That was roughly double the number in February and five times the number in October.
The increase coincided with Nicaragua's decision starting in November to stop requiring visas for Cubans to promote tourism after other countries, such as Panama and the Dominican Republic, began mandating them.
After flying to Nicaragua, Cubans travel by land to remote stretches of the U.S. border with Mexico – mainly in Yuma, Arizona, and Del Rio, Texas – and generally turn themselves in to Border Patrol agents.
The Biden administration has been leaning on other governments to do more to stop migrants from reaching the U.S., most recently during a visit this week to Panama by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. The actions of Nicaragua, a U.S. adversary, complicates that effort.
Cuban and U.S. officials will meet Thursday in Washington for immigration talks — the first in four years.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped Cubans more than 79,800 times from October through March — more than double all of 2021 and five times more than all of 2020. Overall, the Border Patrol stopped migrants of all nationalities more than 209,000 times in March, the highest monthly mark in 22 years.
Cubans who cross the U.S. border illegally face little risk of being deported or expelled under a public health law that has been used to deny asylum to thousands of migrants of other nationalities on the grounds of slowing the spread of COVID-19.
Barely 500 Cubans stopped in March, or about 2%, were subject to Title 42 authority, named after a public health law. The Biden administration plans to end Title 42 authority on May 23.
Jorge Duany, director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University, and other experts estimate the number of Cubans leaving could exceed other mass migrations from the island, including the Mariel boatlift of 1980, when more than 124,700 Cubans came to the U.S.
"There are several intertwined factors that have produced a perfect storm for the intensification of the Cuban exodus," Duany said.
For one, Cuba is experiencing its worst economic crisis in decades due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the tightening of U.S. sanctions.
Massive street protests on July 11, 2021, and the government's response also have played a role. Nongovernmental organizations have reported more than 1,400 arrests and 500 people sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for vandalism or sedition.
Havana has not said how many Cubans have left and has accused the United States of manipulating the situation and offering perks that encourage departure.
"What hurts? That there are young people who find that their future plans can't develop in the country and have to emigrate," Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said early this month. "There are people who want to prove themselves in another world, who want to show they aren't breaking with their country, that their aspiration is also to improve a little and later return."
THE CUBAN FAMILY TIRED OF WAITING
The 30-year-old woman who tried to bring her family to the U.S. through legal avenues had arrived in Florida in a raft in 2016. Under the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, Cubans could stay if they made it to U.S. land, but they were sent back if apprehended at sea.
Former President Barack Obama ended that policy in 2017, and she petitioned for immigration for her children the next year.
Every month, she sent her family $500 for medicine and food, along with boxes of clothes and other items, she said from her home in Tampa, Florida.
Finally, she decided to pay $11,000 to smugglers for each relative -- her two children, ages 8 and 10, and her mother and father.
Her parents sold everything, including their house and furniture, before embarking on the journey with both children, explained the single mother.
In Managua, they met 200 other migrants -- Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans -- at a hotel.
"That same day they start a caravan by car, truck, or any kind of vehicle. In one night, they got into more than 10 different cars," the woman said.
After 20 days, they arrived in Mexicali, Mexico, crossed the Colorado River at night and surrendered to Border Patrol agents in Yuma, Arizona.
They were separated. The grandparents, 45 and 62 years-old, were released in two days; their grandchildren were detained 11 days, the woman said.
THE CUBAN MAN WHO FEARED FOR HIS LIFE
Other Cubans say they left because they felt persecuted.
Ariel, 24, worked doing blood tests at a laboratory in a hospital in Cienfuegos, on Cuba's south coast. During the pandemic, he led a protest demanding masks, gowns and disinfectants and criticized the government on Facebook for the lack of medical supplies.
He told the AP in a phone interview that he decided to leave in November after receiving threats and being beaten. He requested that only his middle name be used because his mother and 14-year-old sister in Cuba could face reprisals.
His whole trip "was a nightmare," Ariel recalled, but he said that he was "willing to do whatever it took" lo leave Cuba.
He made his way to Mexicali, with help from an aunt in Florida, and paid a smuggler $300 to take him across the Colorado River.
He joined about 100 migrants, 90 of them Cubans, who boarded a truck at midnight, he said.
The river was calm, but deep. Water covered his waist. He helped a Cuban mom by carrying her child on his shoulders.
The smuggler gave them directions to a place where Border Patrol agents would pick them up.
They waited two days at a migrant camp with 1,000 other people, eating bread and canned food. Border Patrol agents picked them up in groups of 12 and took them to a center in Yuma that Ariel said "seemed like a prison."
After his release, he called his aunt to let her know that he was ready to fly to St. Petersburg, Florida.
LIVING IN THE U.S.
Many Cubans who crossed illegally say they now feel like they are in limbo.
"The most difficult situation is going to be here, not when crossing (the border)," said Dr. Raúl González, a Cuban American who owns a clinic that helps new arrivals with paperwork to receive assistance for a few months. "They are like stranded here."
It can take some time for asylum seekers to obtain a work permit.
At Gonzalez's clinic, Cubans lined up to secure one of the 20 appointments available each day.
"It is sad what they are going through," said the doctor. "Many tell me, 'Don't give me food stamps, I would prefer that they let me work.'"
Wind will be a force to reckon with on Southwest wildfires - By Felicia Fonseca Associated Press
Fire managers across the Southwest are reckoning with strong winds that forecasters say could lead to explosive growth in wildfires this week. Hundreds of people were evacuated in numerous blazes that have scorched structures and signaled an early start to the fire season.
A wildfire on the outskirts of Flagstaff continued its run Wednesday though dry grass and scattered Ponderosa pines around homes into volcanic cinder fields, where roots underground can combust and send small rocks flying into the air, fire officials said. Aircraft was grounded for a second day due to high winds, and a major northern Arizona highway remained closed as smoke shrouded the air.
Winds are expected to ramp up Thursday after easing up a bit Wednesday. Friday has a chance of precipitation but even stronger winds followed by a dry forecast into next week, said Brian Klimowski of the National Weather Service.
"Folks, we have entered our fire season," he said. "It's going to be a long one this year."
Resources are tight around the Southwest as multiple wildfires burn. Four of the 16 top-level national fire management teams are dedicated to blazes in Arizona and New Mexico — something fire information officer Dick Fleishman said is rare this early in the season.
At a community meeting in Flagstaff, residents questioned how a small blaze reported northeast of the city Sunday afternoon ballooned to more than 30 square miles by Wednesday afternoon. Matt McGrath, a district ranger on the Coconino National Forest, said firefighters had corralled the wildfire Sunday and didn't see any smoke or active flames when they checked on it again Monday.
By Tuesday, the wind was firmly in control. Flames emerged and jumped the containment line, leaving firefighters and McGrath to ask themselves if they could have done something differently, he said.
"I can't tell you for sure, but I don't think so," McGrath said. "And I know that's not a satisfying answer with everything you're going through right now."
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Firefighters have yet to corral any part of it.
Hundreds of people have been evacuated in Arizona and New Mexico because of wildfires.
"This is a heads-up for everywhere else in the state," said Fleishman. "If you have dry grass up next to your house, it's time to get that cleaned up."
In New Mexico, the Mora County Sheriff's Office expanded evacuation orders as winds fueled a 14 square-mile blaze. A new fire emerged Wednesday in a wooded area along the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque.
In Colorado, new wildfires prompted evacuations in Monte Vista, a city of about 4,150 people in the southern part of the state, and near Longmont. An undetermined number of structures burned but no one was injured, authorities said.
"We struggled at times to stay in front of this fire and stay out of the way of it because the winds and stuff were so strong," said Monte Vista Police Chief George Dingfelder.
The number of acres burned in the U.S. so far this year is about 30% above the 10-year average — a figure that has gone up from 20% just earlier this month as the fire danger shifted from the southern U.S. to the Southwest. Above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation have combined with spring winds to elevate the risk of catastrophic fires.
On the outskirts of Flagstaff where tourists and locals revel in hiking and horseback riding trails, camping spots, and the vast expanse of cinder fields for off-road vehicle use, flames soared as high as 100 feet at times. Popular national monuments including Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki were closed because of the wildfire.
"It's just a unique community and we're fortunate to live here," said Jon Stoner, who evacuated his home Tuesday. "We feel very lucky with the views we have and the surrounding forest."
About 200 residents attended the community meeting Wednesday in Flagstaff at a middle school that's also being used as a shelter. Some lost their homes — part of the estimated 25 structures that have been lost — and were worried about finding temporary housing in a city where rental prices have exploded in recent years. One woman who was evacuated from the forest where she was camping wondered when she might be able to retrieve her things.
Coconino County officials pointed residents to a system set up to offer assistance. Sheriff Jim Driscoll couldn't say when residents might be allowed back home. Some 765 homes were evacuated.
"There's still active firefighting going on in those areas, and we need to have it safe for you to go in," he said.
U.S. 89, the main route between Flagstaff and far northern Arizona, and communities on the Navajo Nation, remained closed.
Other residents asked when the U.S. Forest Service would begin restricting campfires or closing the forest to all visitors. McGrath said banning campfires isn't a silver bullet but ensured the audience that the U.S. Forest Service and other agencies already are talking about when to enact restrictions.
Lisa Wells is among the residents whose home was burned. She said she saw a puff of smoke outside her window Tuesday. Before long, the smoke blackened, the wind gained strength and entire trees were being consumed by flames.
In what felt like seconds, her family moved from being ready to go to fleeing. Wells grabbed medication, and the family got themselves, their alpacas, horses and dogs to safety, but left some animals behind.
"It was a miracle that people got out because we had so little time," Wells said.
Birds, goats and chickens they left behind didn't survive the fire. The family now is staying at a hotel where their dogs also are welcome.
Elsewhere in Arizona, a wildfire burned 2.5 square miles of brush and timber in the forest about 10 miles south of Prescott. Several small communities that included summer homes and hunting cabins were evacuated.
New Mexico fines film company over Alec Baldwin shooting - By Morgan Lee Associated Press
New Mexico workplace safety regulators on Wednesday issued the maximum possible fine of nearly $137,000 against a film production company for firearms safety failures on the set of "Rust" where actor and producer Alec Baldwin fatally shot a cinematographer in October.
New Mexico's Occupational Health and Safety Bureau said Rust Movie Productions must pay $136,793, and distributed a scathing narrative of safety failures in violation of standard industry protocols, including testimony that production managers took limited or no action to address two misfires on set prior to the fatal shooting. The bureau also documented gun safety complaints from crew members that went unheeded and said weapons specialists were not allowed to make decisions about additional safety training.
"What we had, based on our investigators' findings, was a set of obvious hazards to employees regarding the use of firearms and management's failure to act upon those obvious hazards," Bob Genoway, bureau chief for occupational safety, told The Associated Press.
At a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021, Baldwin was pointing a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins inside a small church during setup for the filming of a scene when it went off, killing Hutchins and wounding the director, Joel Souza.
Baldwin said in a December interview with ABC News that he was pointing the gun at Hutchins at her instruction on the New Mexico set of the Western film when it went off without his pulling the trigger.
The new occupational safety report confirms that a large-caliber revolver was handed to Baldwin by an assistant director, David Halls, without consulting with on-set weapons specialists during or after the gun was loaded. Regulators note that Halls also served as safety coordinator and that he was present and witnessed two accidental discharges of rifles on set, and that he and other managers who knew of the misfires took no investigative, corrective or disciplinary action. Crew members expressed surprise and discomfort.
"The Safety Coordinator was present on set and took no direct action to address safety concerns," the report states. "Management was provided with multiple opportunities to take corrective actions and chose not to do so. As a result of these failures, Director Joel Souza and cinematographer Halyna Hutchins were severely injured. Halyna Hutchins succumbed to her injuries."
Rust Movie Productions said through a spokesperson that it would dispute the findings and sanction.
"While we appreciate OSHA's time and effort in its investigation, we disagree with its findings and plan to appeal," said Stefan Friedman. Any appeal would be heard initially by the state's occupational health and safety commission.
Baldwin issued a statement from his attorney, asserting that the safety investigation "exonerates Mr. Baldwin."
An attorney for Halls was not immediately available.
The state fine applies to a film with a budget of about $7 million. Baldwin was assigned a salary of $250,000 as an actor and producer and may have put some of that money back into the production.
At least five lawsuits have been filed over the shooting, including a wrongful death suit brought by Hutchins' family against Baldwin and the movie's other producers. The lawsuit on behalf of widower Matt Hutchins and his 9-year-old son alleges a "callous" disregard in the face of safety complaints on the set.
James Kenney, secretary of the Environment Department that oversees occupational safety, said the agency dedicated 1,500 staff hours to its investigation, examined hundreds of documents and conducted at least a dozen interviews with cast and crew members.
Investigators found production managers placed tight limits on resources for a small team that controlled weapons on set and failed to address concerns about a shotgun left unattended twice.
Armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the daughter of a sharpshooter and consultant to film productions, was limited to eight paid days as an armorer to oversee weapons and training, and was assigned otherwise to lighter duties as a props assistant. As her time as an armorer ran out, Gutierrez Reed warned a manager and was rebuffed.
Gutierrez Reed is both a plaintiff and a defendant in lawsuits seeking damages in the fatal shooting. In a statement Wednesday, her attorney highlighted findings that the armorer "was not provided adequate time or resources to conduct her job effectively."
Safety investigators also note that the production company did not develop a process to ensure live rounds of ammunition were not brought on set, in violation of industry safety protocols. Safety meetings were conducted, but not every day weapons were used, as required.
Kenney said the separate investigations into possible criminal charges are still underway. The Santa Fe County sheriff and local prosecutors had no immediate comment.
Kenney said his agency received no direct safety complaints from cast or crew prior to the fatal shooting, even though anonymity is offered.
"This tragedy, this loss of life, it could have been prevented, and we want people to say something," he said.
Kenney was appointed in 2019 by Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a staunch advocate for the film industry who increased a state cap in industry incentives shortly after taking office.
New Mexico competes with non-Hollywood production sites in states such as Georgia, Louisiana and New York. Film productions have flocked to New Mexico in recent years to seize on its diverse outdoor scenery, moderate costs and generous state incentives, including a rebate of between 25% and 35% of in-state spending for video production that helps filmmakers large and small underwrite their work.
After wildfires, scorched trees could disrupt water supplies - By Brittany Peterson Associated Press
In a California forest torched by wildfire last summer, researcher Anne Nolin examines a handful of the season's remaining snow, now darkened by black specks from the burned trees above.
Spring heat waves had already melted much of the year's limited snowfall across California and parts of the West when Nolin visited in early April. But she and her colleague are studying another factor that might've made the snow vanish faster in the central Sierra Nevada — the scorched trees, which no longer provide much shade and are shedding flecks of carbon.
The darkened snow is "primed to absorb all that sunlight" and melt faster, said Nolin, who researches snow at the University of Nevada, Reno.
As climate change fuels the spread of wildfires across the West, researchers want to know how the dual effect might disrupt water supplies. Communities often rely on melting snow in the spring to replenish reservoirs during dryer months. If snow melts earlier than normal, that would likely leave less water flowing in the summer when it's most needed, Nolin said.
Multiple studies indicate that snow in a burned forest disappears up to several weeks sooner than snow in a healthy forest because of the lack of a shade canopy and carbon shedding from trees that intensifies the absorption of sunlight.
Water forecasting factors in variables including snow density, soil moisture and air temperature. Although dark accumulation on snow isn't widely measured, Tim Bardsley, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service, said it is a contributing factor to the timing of snowmelt and is worth considering incorporating into supply forecasting.
Dust, ash and soot similarly affect snow by causing it to absorb more light in what's known as the "albedo effect." But California officials are increasingly worried about carbon, which absorbs even more.
"It was like, OK, we really need to understand this. This is the new norm," said David Rizzardo of the California Department of Water Resources.
In some fire-damaged areas, state officials are beginning to map snow from planes with cameras that measure albedo and have plans to upgrade remote sensing stations as well.
Already, a warming climate is leading to earlier snowmelt and leaving places more vulnerable to wildfire, said Noah Molotch, who researches water and snow cycles at the University of Colorado, Boulder. A burned area "exacerbates the impact of drought" by leading to even dryer conditions in hotter months, he said.
Nolin and graduate student Arielle Koshkin hiked into the El Dorado National Forest for one of their final measuring trips earlier this month when the region typically has the most snow accumulation. Little remained when they arrived in part because of unusually hot temperatures this spring and a long streak of cloudless days.
Late-season storms have since blanketed the carbon-coated snow with several inches of fresh powder, which Nolin said could help slow the melt.
Meanwhile, the Caldor Fire that burned the area and more than 200,000 acres last year has left nearby communities scrambling over more immediate water worries.
About 40 miles southwest from where Nolin surveyed the snow, the town of Grizzly Flats is working to fix a water pipeline damaged in the fire. The pipeline diverts snowmelt into a reservoir but burned trees keep falling and puncturing it.
It's not yet clear exactly how the charred trees might disrupt their future water supply. So far this year, water managers said runoff from snowmelt appears normal. But officials don't know for sure since the gauges in the stream melted in the fire.
Jodi Lauther, general manager of the local water agency, said she's concerned about the fire's lasting effects. For now, she said, "we are in survival mode."
USDA secretary in Mississippi to discuss rural initiative -Associated Press
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Mississippi on Wednesday to announce a program meant to help rural communities get federal funding to create jobs, build infrastructure and improve their economies.
Vilsack and White House Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice traveled to the Mississippi Delta cities of Clarksdale and Greenwood to discuss the USDA-led Rural Partners Network with community leaders.
The initiative, which is part of President Joe Biden's push to improve infrastructure, will help groups in rural communities navigate federal programs and access resources and funding to strengthen their economies long-term, the USDA said in a news release.
Federal staff will be hired and placed in more than 25 rural communities in multiple U.S. states, Tribal Nations and territories, the USDA said. Staff will identify challenges preventing rural communities from getting federal support, the USDA said.
The initiative is set to first launch in Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and New Mexico. It is expected to expand later to Nevada, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Tribal communities in Alaska, the USDA said.
"The Rural Partners Network will help communities get funding for investments that create long-lasting benefits for their communities, especially those that have been overlooked in the past," Vilsack said in a statement.