By KRWG News
Las Cruces, NM – Fire crews suppressed a blaze near silver city Monday that threatened a number of homes and several structures at a local airport.
The fire began around two-thirty in the afternoon near the Whiskey Creek Airport, four miles east of Silver City.
Fire information officer for the New Mexico State Forestry Division, Dan Ware, says the blaze spread quickly burning more than thirty acres in just two hours.
According to Ware, "At one point there were about fifteen homes threatened by the fire, as well as some structures at the Whiskey Creek Airport. We had engines standing by in case the fire itself any had close run to structures. Luckily, thanks to quick work on the ground and in the air, fire crews were able to contain the fire and the structures were no longer threatened."
The cause of Whiskey Creek fire on private land has not been determined.
Local volunteer fire departments and Silver City firefighters were among the crews that quickly extinguished the blaze.
Firefighters will stay at the site through the evening to make sure the fire does not reignite.