SUNDAY,MAY 8 , 2022 .THEWASHINGTONPOST EZ RE K A
Politics &the NationBYMATTHEWCAPPUCCI
ANDJASONSAMENOWCritical-to-extreme wildfire
conditionsare aboutto takehold
ofthesouthwesternUnitedStates
and parts of Colorado,leading
into whatcould be alengthy, mul-
tidayand memorable outbreakof
wildfires and/or wildfire condi-
tions.Warm to locallyscorching
temperatures,bone-dryair and
strongmountaingusts are setto
overlapfor several days, partofa
summerlikeweather pattern that
comeswithoutthe chanceof any
meaningfulrainfall.
TheNationalWeather Service
in Albuquerque is callingit a
“dangerous,long duration and
potentially historiccritical fire
weather event.”Tinderboxcondi-
tions conducive to the rapid
spreadof blazesare expected to
persistwellintotheweek.Sunday
maypresentthe mostextreme
combination of highwindsand
hot, dryair.
“NewMexicoisfacing 100
straight hoursof the worstpossi-
ble setoffire conditions,with
high temperatures &extreme
winds,”tweeted Gov. MichelleLu-
janGrisham(D) on Friday. “Itis
criticallyimportant to abideby
evacuation orders.Your life &
safety is toppriority.”
She added:“I ask everyNew
Mexicanto do everythingyou can
to prevent anyadditionalfire in-
cident,anythingthatcould cause
aspark.Noopenflames,nocamp-
fires, no opengrills,no welding,
no tossing cigarettebutts —
pleaseworkwithus to prevent
fires and preserve resources.”
As it is, anumberof ongoing
fires will continueto burnand be
made worseby this weekend’s
weather.New ignitionsare also
anticipated, whichcouldrapidly
growout of control.
Last week,the Calf Canyon fire
became NewMexico’s second-
largestonrecord.In late April,it
merged withthe Hermit’s Peak
fire justtothe east,aprescribed
burnthatcrews lostcontrolof
amidstrongwinds.Thecauseof
the Calf Canyon blazeis under
investigation.
Located in the higherterrain
eastofSanta Fe in Mora andSan
Miguel counties,the Calf Canyon
fire has alreadytorched170,
acresand is 21 percentcontained.
More than1,400 personnelfrom
threestates are activelyinvolved
incombatingtheblaze,whichhas
destroyedat least276 structures
and forcedan estimated 4,000-
plus evacuations.
AndyLyon, publicinformation
officer withthe SouthwestInci-
dent ManagementTeam, toldThe
Washington Post that 15,000resi-
dencescouldbe threatenedover
the weekend all the wayaround
the perimeter of the fire.
TheCalf Canyon fire is among
six largeblazesburningin New
Mexico.ThefirespromptedPresi-
dentBidento declare amajor
disaster for parts of the state
Wednesdaysothatfederal assis-
tancecan reachaffected resi-
dents.
Red-flagwarnings,for danger-
ousfireweatherconditions,cover
all of NewMexico, as well as west
Texas, eastern and northernAri-
zona,southernNevada, the In-
land Empireand deserts of Cali-
forniaand muchof southernand
eastern Colorado.
TheWeather Service in Albu-
querque is urgingresidentsto be
readyto evacuate, tellingthemto“remember[their]ps” —people,
pets, prescriptions,pictures,pa-
pers, personal computer and
phone.
“But if there’s not enoughtime,
justgrabyour familyand go,” it
wrote.
In additionto fanningflames,
the high windsare also projected
to stir up areasof blowingdust,
limitingvisibility. Andthe dust
and smokewilldegrade air quali-
ty.
Theturbulentweather pattern
istheresultofalargedipinthejet
stream—theriverofhighaltitude
winds—inthe western United
States. This dip will remainen-
trenched throughat least the
middle of this week,directing a
torrentof windsfromthe west
and southwestoverthe South-
westand southernRockies.
Themostintense winds
throughthe weekend will rush
over the high terrain of Colorado,
wheregusts topping70 mpharepossible.Elsewhere,widespread
40-to-55mphwindsare likely in
the mountainsthroughMonday,
slackeningsomeeachnightbut
returningin full forceduringthe
daylighthours.
Meanwhile,low pressurewill
ejectout of the Colorado Front
RangeonSunday, tugging ashot
of dryair eastward. That will
reinforcea“dryline”inwestern
Texas and Oklahoma.To theeast,
tropicalhumiditywillreign,but
desertairwill overspreadareasto
the west.
Thecombination of abnormal-
ly hightemperatures,soaringto
95 to 100 degreesin westTexas
and eastern NewMexico, and
“downsloping”air rushingdown
the Rockieswill contributeto rel-
ative humiditypercentages in the
singledigits.Computer models
are suggesting thatthe humidity
coulddip to just4percentin the
PermianBasinof Texas.
That’s added atop aLevel 4out
of4“exceptional”drought al-
readyin place,the bull’s-eye of
whichis centeredin eastern New
Mexicoand parts of the Texas
Panhandleand Hill Country.
Conditionsmayimprovesome
astheweekwearson,butaglance
at the extendedpattern shows
little influxof moisture into the
water-starved region.“More criti-
cal fire weatherconditionsare
expected Tuesdaythrough the
rest of the week,althoughcover-
agewilllikely be less overall,”the
Weather Service in Albuquerque
wrote.
Blazes in NewMexico have
burnedover 270,000acresso far
this year,the secondmostinthe
pastdecade,and the fire seasonis
justnow enteringits peakperiod.
Theunusuallyactive seasonis
tied to the persistenceof strong
winds,the droughtand warmer-
than-normaltemperatures.Sev-
eral of the blazesare burningin
areaswhere winter snowpack
wasmuchbelow normal.
Acrossthe United States, wild-
fire activityisrunning78 percent
abovethe 10-yearaveragesofar
this year,accordingto afactsheet
releasedby the WhiteHouse.
Researchlinksrisingtempera-
turesand intensifyingdroughts
from human-caused climate
changetolonger,more severe fire
seasons.Hot, arid conditionsdry
out vegetation quickly,making
the land surface morecombusti-
ble. This year’s conditionsmay
portend afieryfuturefor not only
NewMexico but also muchof the
Southwest.‘Potentially historic’ wildfire threat seizes the Southwest
EDDIEMOORE/ALBUQUERQUEJOURNAL/ASSOCIATEDPRESS
Aplane dumpsfire retardant Tuesdaytoprotectthe westside of LasVegas, N.M. Tinderboxconditions conducive to the rapid spread
of blazesare expectedtopersist well intothe week.Sundaymay present the most extreme combination of high winds andhot,dry air.NEWYORK
Subwayshooting
suspectindicted
Afederal grand juryhas
indicted aman suspected of
shootingup aNew York City
subwaytrain last month—an
attack thatwounded10 people
and rattled acityalready
experiencingarise in violent
crime.
Thepanel charged Frank
James, 62, on Fridaywith
committing aterroristattack or
otherviolenceagainstamass
transportation system and
dischargingafirearmduringa
violentcrime.Bothcountscarry
amaximumsentenceof life in
prison.Theweaponscounthas a
10-yearmandatoryminimum
sentence.
James was arrested on April
13, about30 hoursafter
authoritiessayhedrove from
Philadelphiaand unleashed
smokebombsand dozensof
bullets in atrain full of morning
commuters as it approacheda
Brooklynstation. Theshooting
victims ranged in agefrom16to
60; all wereexpected to survive.
James is jailed withoutbail.
An arraignmenthasn’t yetbeen
scheduled,accordingto the U.S.
attorney’sofficefor NewYork’s
Eastern District.
Alawyer representingJames
at the time of his arrest
cautionednot to rush to
judgmentand notedthatJames
alerted policeto his
whereabouts.
—AssociatedPress
CALIFORNIA
Multiplemurderer
sentencedto life
Aman who pleadedguiltytoa
seriesof SouthernCalifornia
attacksthatkilled five men and
injuredseven otherswas
sentencedFridaytolife in prison
withoutpossibilityofparole.
RamonEscobar,50, received
multiplelife sentencesafter
enteringguiltypleas to murder
with specialcircumstancesand
attemptedmurder.InaZoom
call hearing,healso pleaded
guiltytothe 2018 killingsof his
aunt and unclein Houston. He
receivedadditionallife sentences
for thoseslayingsbut will serve
themconsecutivelyin California.
Prosecutorssaid Escobarfled
Texas after killinghis relatives
and was homelesswhenhe
beganattackingpeoplein Los
Angeles and SantaMonica over
the courseof abouttwoweeks in
September2018.
Prosecutorssaid Escobar
bludgeonedvictims with bolt
cutters or abaseballbatasthey
laysleepingon streets or the
beach.All but one were
homeless.
In an interviewwithpolice,
Escobarsaid he killedsomeof
the victims becausethey
“irritated him, theywere
disrespectful to law
enforcement,or he robbedthem
becausehe neededmoney,”
accordingto aprosecution
sentencingmemorandum.
—AssociatedPressTEXASAbout100 migrants
found in semitrailerDeputiesfoundabout 100
migrants in the back of a
semitrailer thathad broken
downon aSouth Texas highway
on Friday, but manyofthemfled,
authoritiessaid.
Deputieswith the Jackson
CountySheriff’sOffice foundthe
semitrailer around7a.m. just
north of Ganado,about90 miles
southwestofHouston.
Whenauthoritiesopenedthe
back of the vehicle,manyofthe
occupants—whom authorities
suspectillegallyimmigrated into
the U.S. —jumpedout and ran
away into nearbybrushand corn
fields, the sheriff’sofficesaid.
Deputiestook 64 people,
includingthe semitrailer’s
driver,intocustody.The
individualswho are illegallyin
the countryare beingprocessed
by the U.S. BorderPatrol, said
JacksonCountySheriffKellyJanica.Authoritieswerestill
searchingfor about40 other
migrants who fled on foot.
Nineof the peopledetained
weretreated for dehydration,
Janica said.
—AssociatedPressDukeUniversityaccused of
retaliation:Aformeremployee
of DukeUniversity is suingthe
collegebecausehe says he was
fired after reporting
discriminatoryand racist
commentsmadeby his
supervisor,accordingto a
lawsuit.MatthewFreetage
describedhow university
employeesrepeatedlymade
racistremarksand retaliated
againsthim and otherstaff
memberswho reported theseinstances.Aspokespersonfrom
the DukeUniversity Health
System in Raleightold
McClatchyNewsonFridaythat
theyhad no commenton active
litigation.Courtallowslimitedfoie gras
purchasesin Calif.:Californians
can buy foie gras producedout of
statedespiteCalifornia’sban on
the delicacy, afederal appeals
courtruled Friday. TheNinth
U.S. Circuit CourtofAppeals
uphelda2020 lowercourtruling
thatsaid Californianscan order
foie gras fromout-of-state
producersand have it sent by a
third-party deliveryservice. The
2012 statelaw still bansfoie gras
production in Californiawhile
restaurants and retailersareforbiddento sell it or give it
away.Mancharged with murderin
La.freezer case:Aman has
beenindicted on asecond-
degreemurderchargeinthe
death of awoman whose
dismemberedbodywas foundin
afreezer stored aboardan old
bus parked besideaNew Orleans
home.BenjaminBeale,34, was
charged Thursdaybyagrand
juryinthe death of Julia Dardar.
Dardar’s bodywas discoveredby
policein the freezeron the
graffiti-coveredbus in January.
She had beenreported missing
in December.Authorities said
she had beenbeaten and
strangled.
—From newsservicesDIGESTKEVINMOHATT/REUTERS
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