Mother Nature Winning The Battles: Wildfires rage out of control in US southwest

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has declared states of emergency in five counties due to wildfires that have burned through large swaths of the drought-stricken state.

An early and furious start to the U.S. wildfire season: At least 11 million Americans are under a red flag warning to be extremely careful as fast-moving fires sweep through Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado.

Evacuation orders have been issued for several counties as firefighters battle flames fueled by extreme winds.

Winds that howled on Friday remained a concern on Saturday in northern New Mexico, where two fires merged and quadrupled in size to a combined 171 square kilometres in mountains and grassland northwest of Las Vegas.
[Global News Channel , Jennifer Johnson]