Utility line caused 21,000-acre Mogote Hill Fire, which is now under control
A fast-moving wildfire near Wagon Mound that ignited Friday is now under control, according to a State Forestry spokesperson, and investigators also determined that a utility line was the cause.
The Mogote Hill Fire in Northern New Mexico grew to 21,300 acres, according to dispatch records. That's a little more than 33 square miles.
The grass fire ignited a little after noon Friday amid dry conditions and high winds, prompting evacuation orders along a nearby state highway. Multiple state crews responded and made significant progress over the weekend. Precipitation over the wildfire also helped, Forestry spokesperson George Ducker said in an emailed statement.
The threat to a few structures in the area has passed, and evacuation orders are no longer in effect, Ducker said.
Ducker told Source New Mexico said he did not know who owned the utility line that sparked the blaze, and referred the issue for comment to the Mora County Sheriff's Office, which had not responded by publication Monday morning.
'Stonewalling': Forest Service mum on firings during wildfire briefing for congressional staff
Rural electrical co-operatives own most of the utility lines in that area.
This legislative session, lawmakers are considering House Bill 334, which would remove liability for rural electrical co-ops that spark a wildfire as long as they've submitted wildfire mitigation plans in advance for approval by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.
Lawmakers have told Source New Mexico the bill is an attempt to prevent lawsuits from bankrupting small electrical co-operatives that typically have little cash on hand, especially in high wind events during ongoing drought.
At an interim Legislative Finance Committee last summer, Rep. Joe Sanchez (D-Alcalde) said a lawsuit against the Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative, where Sanchez used to work, ultimately had to pay $25 million for its role in the Las Conchas Fire in 2011.
The amount of risk co-ops face from wildfire lawsuits limits the amount of insurance they can secure, he said, and after the Las Conchas Fire, the co-op can only get $2 million to $3 million in coverage.
'Any lawsuit would put the co-ops in bankruptcy, and all that's going to do is drive up costs for poor people in our rural areas,' he said at the meeting.
HB334, which Sanchez and four other lawmakers sponsored, is awaiting a hearing at the House Rural Development, Land Grants and Cultural Affairs Committee. The committee's schedule for the last week of the session has not yet been released.
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