May 28—The Indios Fire in Rio Arriba County grew Tuesday by about 600 acres to 4,844 acres, gaining significant ground in the dry, breezy weather.

Crews are concentrating on preventive measures, such as forming fire lines and clipping vegetation to keep the fire from spreading, rather than the traditional focus on containment, state and federal fire agencies said in a news release Tuesday.

The wildfire, which ignited May 19, is burning about 7 miles north of Coyote in Rio Arriba County, with 477 personnel fighting the blaze.

Fire managers said they would track the percentage of essential tasks completed rather than the percentage of containment, as the agencies previously have done.

Reporting the amount of work accomplished on the ground more accurately reflects the progress in managing the fire’s spread and reducing adverse effects to communities, infrastructure and other assets, they said in a statement.

Forecasts call for the area weather to remain warm and dry through the week, with highs in the low 80s through the weekend, with moderate winds between 10 and 14 mph.

Although warm, dry weather is not ideal for combating a wildfire, the winds staying relatively mild is more important in helping crews quell the fire, a National Weather Service forecaster said.

“Wind is the main issue in terms of fast spread of a fire,” meteorologist Andrew Church said.

Fire officials hoped a thunderstorm moving Tuesday into Eastern New Mexico from Texas would drop some much-needed rain on the fire, but Church said the storm system mostly would bypass that area.

“Based on this pattern, the chances of them getting a wetting rainfall on this fire are pretty slim,” Church said, adding Rio Arriba County will remain dry through the week and probably most of June until the monsoon season kicks in.

Crews have the fire under control enough to let it spread into areas where it can burn debris and thick vegetation, filling a similar role as a prescribed burn, officials said.

Meanwhile in the south, the Blue 2 Fire has scorched 7,188 acres since it ignited May 16 about 8 miles north of Ruidoso.

More than 530 personnel have been deployed to battle the blaze in the White Mountain Wilderness. Ten crews are operating 32 fire engines, six helicopters, six bulldozers and five water tenders.

Neither fire threatens structures. Still, with the Blue 2 Fire, crews are placing sprinklers and hoses around houses for protection.

How long and troublesome this wildfire season is will depend on how soon the monsoon season arrives and how much rain it brings to New Mexico.

The world is in a neutral phase between an El Nino and La Niña.

The former often causes a wetter-than-normal winter and the latter commonly makes conditions drier in winter, especially in the Southwest, although that’s been less the case recently with the weather patterns.

During the neutral phase, precipitation is about normal, which in New Mexico means the rainy season will start in July.

Church said climate forecasters probably won’t officially declare a La Niña until midsummer, though its trademark cooling of the Pacific Ocean is under way, with temperatures 2 degrees Celsius below average, Church said.

“I would say it’s there,” he said.