KRWG News – MELROSE, N.M. (KRWG) Officials say a grass fire in Curry County that consumed three homes is under control and residents near the Roosevelt County line have returned home.
The New Mexico Forestry Department says the blaze began along a highway between the towns of Melrose and Floyd at midmorning Sunday. By dusk, it had burned about 17,000 acres.
The Clovis police dispatch office said early Monday that the fire was under control and evacuees had returned home. The office, which handles dispatch duties at night for the Curry sheriff's department, wasn't sure how many people had evacuated.
Crews from Curry and Roosevelt counties and numerous local departments aided state crews in fighting the blaze.
Forestry spokesman Dan Ware says the blaze started after a vehicle blew a tire and sparks from the rim landed in nearby grass.
No injuries have been reported.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. KRWG