Daniel Trotta

(Reuters) – Airborne firefighters poured water and retardants onto a raging New Mexico wildfire Saturday to speed up their missions ahead of gustier winds forecast for the next few days. Officials said they expected much of their aerial campaign to be grounded in these conditions.

New Mexico had to battle at least six wildfires in the state. The worst were burning mountains and canyons east of Santa Fe. This was all amid very hot and windy weather, which Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham described as “the worst set of circumstances for any fire.”

According to officials, 170,665 acres of Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak had been burned as of Saturday. That’s nearly 90% of New York City’s total land area. Officials also stated that 170,665 homes were destroyed and 16,000 evacuated.

Even worse, powerful winds and sizzling temperatures were predicted for five more days during what firefighters called a “historical fire weather event”.

Dave Bales (U.S. Forest Service incident Commander for Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire) told reporters that pilots of helicopters and planes began early Saturday morning in anticipation that the wind would whip up and bring down the fleet.

Saturday’s winds of 30 mph and 60 mph gusts were forecast to rise on Sunday. According to firefighters, Sunday will see a drop in relative humidity from 35% to just 18%.

Bales said to reporters, “We won’t fly an aircraft so we won’t have much aviation support”

Although sustained winds are possible, they can pose a danger to pilots. However, strong winds and high speeds blow water away and could cause damage, Bales stated.

KOAT TV showed a helicopter dipping a vat connected to a cable in a lake while other planes swam through billowing smoke, dropping water and fire retardants.

Over 13,000 firefighters were on the ground and used bulldozers as well hand tools to start fire breaks.

Bales stated that the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak fire was only 21% under control on Saturday. However, pockets of unburned forests remained just behind the lines which means it still had plenty of fuel.

Two blazes ignited around two weeks ago and then merged to form the fire. One was from a prescribed burning project, while the other came out of control. Officials are still investigating the cause.

At most five other raged in another part of the state.

Lujan.Grisham indicated that the Cooks Peak Fire, which raged over 59,000 acres (233.8 km2) just to the northeast of the main blaze was 97% contained. It means that resources can soon be diverted elsewhere within the state.