LAS VEGAS, N.M. — Fast winds are complicating the fight against fires burning across northeast New Mexico.
Wind gusts were as fast as 50 miles per hour on Sunday.
That forced some firefighting aircraft to be grounded, taking away a key tool for battling the blazes.
The area's largest rural town is Las Vegas, New Mexico, and it appears safe for now thanks to fire lines and other preparations.
But the northern and southern ends of the fire are proving trickier to contain with the fast winds.
The National Interagency Fire Center says more than 20,000 structures remain threatened.
