The Borderland’s fire season is here, what you need to know

EL PASO, Texas - From the start of spring until around the time the monsoon brings moisture to the region, these few months are considered critical fire weather season. Here in the Borderland, westerly wind events happen fairly regularly - once, twice, or more times per week.

When those winds are strong, paired with low humidity values (a measure of moisture in the atmosphere) at 15% or less, above-average temperatures, and dry fuel starters on the ground - the conditions are just right for fires to spark and spread rapidly. When those conditions align - Red Flag Warnings or Fire Weather Watches are issued by the National Weather Service.

The McBride Fire that sparked yesterday in Ruidoso, NM, is a prime example of how fast wildfires can get out of control. The fire started just after lunchtime on Tuesday and quickly spread to 4,132 acres by Wednesday morning, according to Laura Rabon, speaking on behalf of the Village of Ruidoso. She also reported that 150 structures had already been lost in the fire.

The McBride Fire was not the only fire that sparked yesterday- there was another in Nogales, a town near Ruidoso. Yesterday, gusts between 50 and 90 mph were recorded in the Sacramento Mts., according to Rabon. Those strong winds combined with humidity percentages of less than 20% and plenty of fuel starters on the ground- the fires sparked and spread very quickly.

According to NWS Meteorologist Randall Hergert who works at the Albuquerque office, this fire weather season is not looking too good:

"Unfortunately, the long-term outlooks, which are put out by the Climate Prediction Center, are still looking at the above-normal warmth continuing along with below-normal precipitation occurring,"..."Whenever we see those wind events occur we're likely going to see Red Flag conditions along with critical fire weather conditions occur," Hergert shared.

Hergert shared a few tips on how you can help prevent wild and forest fires from occurring. "'One less spark' is what we say, so don't toss the cigarette butts out of the window. If you have trailers, make sure the trailer chains aren't dragging so that's not creating sparks on the roadways. If you do have to park on the side of the road, make sure the bottom of your car is not touching the grass or fuel [dead or dry leaves, grass, etc.] on the roadways.