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On the run: people in the United States bring themselves to safety from the fires
Photo: Eddie Moore/AP
Wildfires have destroyed or damaged many homes in the American Southwest and forced thousands to flee.
The state of New Mexico has reportedly been hit the hardest.
State Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency in five counties with 20 active fires.
More than 200 buildings burned down, she said on Saturday.
The authorities called on the residents of several towns to leave their homes and get to safety.
The risk season had started “incredibly and dangerously early”.
There was no information about the exact origin of the fire.
The years of drought, high temperatures and strong winds with gusts of up to 140 kilometers per hour would have favored the spread of the flames, it said.
Two fires converged east of the regional capital Santa Fe, destroying an area of about 170 square kilometers, fire officials said.
It is worrying that there were already such severe fires in April.
"Our high-risk season has started incredibly and dangerously early," the governor said.
Several fires also raged in neighboring Arizona: near Flagstaff, the flames destroyed 30 houses, local authorities said.
Governor Doug Ducey declared a state of emergency for the Coconino district on Thursday.
Around 2,000 firefighters are deployed in both states, the broadcaster NBC News reported.
Across the country, forest fires have already destroyed an area of around 4,000 square kilometers this year - about twice as much as in the same period last year.
has/dpa
