US President Joe Biden will visit New Mexico on Saturday to talk about his administration’s efforts to tackle wildfires as residents smolder with anger over how federal officials allowed planned burns to spread out of control, leading to the largest blaze in recorded state history.
The fire has been contained on several fronts but is still burning amid dangerously hot and dry conditions. It’s destroyed more than 430 homes across 1,300 square kilometers since early April, according to federal officials.
Evacuations have displaced thousands of residents from rural villages with Spanish-colonial roots and high poverty rates while unleashing untold environmental damage. Fear of flames is giving way to concern about erosion and mudslides in places where superheated fire penetrated soil and roots.