By Andrew Hay

PLACITA N.M. (Reuters). Local firefighters and officials in New Mexico fought on Wednesday against the destructive march northward by the most active U.S. wildfire.

Christine Gonzalez, 40 miles north of Santa Fe, piled weeds into her wheelbarrow under the plume from a fire that had torched more than 1,500 properties.

Gonzalez, 61 years old, a retired budget manger from Los Alamos National Laboratory (NYSE) said that “Climate Change is Very Real Here” as smoke rose thousands upon thousands above Jicarita Peak.

Crews cleared a firebreak measuring 300 feet along the ridge of a forest eight miles to the north to protect Taos Fire and Angel Fire in case other firefighting efforts fail. It was approximately 15 miles away from both resort cities.

Jayson Coil, operations chief of Jayson Communications told reporters that it was important to foresee a negative outcome and to expect fire growth to mimic what has been seen in the past few weeks.

The Hermits Peak Calf Canyon Fire, fueled by unrelenting winds, has consumed over 301,971 acres (122.203 hectares) of land, an area that is almost as large as Los Angeles.

Northern New Mexico has been trapped in a 25 year drought by lower snowpacks, higher temperatures, and it is now experiencing the most destructive fire ever recorded.

Mora County was the hardest affected. Americk Padilla, Undersheriff of Mora County refers to the blaze “the beast” because it destroyed both trailer homes and ancestral forests as well as watersheds.

On Wednesday, the Sipapu Ski Area was under immediate threat. It is located 15 miles from Taos. Here employees used silver foil to wrap structures around to prevent fires and snowmaking equipment for tumbling forest.

The Cordova family, seven miles to the west of Rodarte used diggers for a firebreak around their home.

Diane Cordova apologizes for not being able to speak and said “We’re still going to say so long as we are able to fight it.”