By Ashley Meeks
The Las Cruces Sun-News
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Flames have crested the peaks of the Organ Mountains and firefighters are bracing for the Abrams Fire to worsen as winds gust to an expected 55 mph this afternoon.
“It has crested the Organ peak,” said White Sands Missile Range spokeswoman Monte Marlin. “And it is too windy to get the aircraft in to do the (water) drops. Also, the area is too treacherous to get firefighters to it, so it’s basically being monitored.”
The fire, which began Thursday on Fort Bliss land during a training exercise involving an Abrams tank, has scorched almost 7,000 remote acres of freeze-killed brush and trees on the eastern side of the Organ Mountains, according to Bureau of Land Management spokesman Rico Smith.
“Right now, it’s still moving slowly,” Smith said Tuesday morning. “There’s been no major movement. The winds are just starting to pick up, so that could factor in a change, but right now, there’s no major movement.”
Flames spotted by Las Crucens Monday night over the peaks of the Organs don’t “mean it’s actually advancing quickly,” Smith cautioned.
The fire is about three miles southwest of the White Sands boundary and an estimated five miles from the installation itself, said Marlin.
“We’re watching it very closely because of the high winds,” she said. “Right now, it is not on White Sands property.”
A total of 140 fire personnel are on hand to fight the fire, and officials expect to have another update on the status of the blaze between 5 and 6 p.m. The fire, located about three miles from the trailhead for Soledad Canyon Day Use Area, has neither destroyed any buildings nor threatened any, Smith said. However, Dripping Springs Natural Area, Bar Canyon Trail and Soledad Canyon Trail remain closed to the public.
The heavy winds are preventing aircraft from fighting the fire, according to the BLM.
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