China News Service, April 25. According to the Associated Press, a large-scale wildfire in the southwestern United States is spreading in New Mexico, Nebraska and Arizona, killing at least one person and injuring 15 firefighters.
On April 19, local time, the Flagstaff, Arizona, wildfires burned.
According to reports, Nebraska authorities said on the 24th local time that the wildfire killed a 66-year-old retired fire chief and injured at least 15 firefighters.
As of the afternoon of the 24th, the fire had burned more than 78 square miles (202 square kilometers) in Red Willow, Furnas and Frontier, Nebraska.
In addition, in some parts of New Mexico, wildfires approached villages and ranches, and large numbers of people were evacuated.
As of the 24th, 20 wildfires continued to burn in New Mexico, one of which had spread to 84 square miles (217.56 square kilometers) of land.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Grisham said on the 23rd that thousands of people were asked to evacuate their homes.
In Arizona, two fires continued to burn 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Prescott and 14 miles (22 kilometers) northeast of Flagstaff.
As of the 24th, the fire area near Flagstaff was 33 square miles (85 square kilometers) and the control rate was 3%.
Since it began a week ago, the wildfires forced the evacuation of residents of 766 homes and burned 30 homes and more than two dozen other structures, authorities said.
The report also said the cause of the wildfires in New Mexico and Arizona is still under investigation.
In a separate report, scientists say snowmelt, rain and wildfires have become year-round threats in the western U.S. given changing climate conditions.
Decades of untimely and mismanaged firefighting, as well as previous megadroughts, have exacerbated these problems.
Over the past three months, parts of the U.S. Southwest have seen precipitation 60% to 80% below normal years, with parts of New Mexico, Colorado and Texas experiencing severe or "abnormal" droughts.