Watch the video: In New Mexico, an area half the size of New York has burned:
Thousands of residents in northern New Mexico have been ordered by authorities to evacuate their homes. Because they have been threatened for two days by a huge forest fire with strong destructive power. William Sandoval was one of those people. He left the city of Chacon with his dog Copper: “Some of my friends have lost everything. Others have lost quite a lot. There is already a lot of damage. And it doesn’t look good.”
Satellite images from Sunday show the dramatic extent of the devastation caused by the inferno northeast of Santa Fe. It has already burned more than 50,000 acres of land — that’s more than half the area of New York City. High temperatures and changing winds have caused the fire to spread at dangerous speeds and in different directions, firefighters say.
According to the local forest authority, the situation is further aggravated by a severe drought in the region. The fire, which has been burning since April 6, has already destroyed hundreds of properties and a quick end does not seem to be in sight for the time being.
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