{"id":862,"date":"2026-05-19T02:01:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T09:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/19\/new-mexico-wildfire-sparked-by-fatal-medical-plane-crash-spreads-quickly-in-rural-area\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T02:01:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T09:01:37","slug":"new-mexico-wildfire-sparked-by-fatal-medical-plane-crash-spreads-quickly-in-rural-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/19\/new-mexico-wildfire-sparked-by-fatal-medical-plane-crash-spreads-quickly-in-rural-area\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico wildfire sparked by fatal medical plane crash spreads quickly in rural area"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) \u2014 A fast-growing wildfire sparked by the fatal crash of a small medical plane outside Ruidoso, New Mexico, has triggered evacuations for a rural area north of the Capitan Mountains and closures in the Lincoln National Forest, officials said Monday.<\/p>\n

Read more Gas surges past $4 a gallon while tomato and beef prices notch new records. A look at rising costs amid the Iran war<\/a><\/p>\n

The plane was en route from Roswell Air Center to Sierra Blanca Regional Airport when it crashed before dawn Thursday, killing the four people aboard. They were identified as pilots Keelan Clark and Ali Kawsara with the company Generation Jets and flight nurses Jamie Novick and Sarah Clark with Trans Aero MedEvac.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hearts remain with the families and loved ones navigating an unimaginable loss,\u201d Matt Goertz, vice president of Trans Aero MedEvac, said in a joint statement with Generation Jets.<\/p>\n

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.<\/p>\n

The wildfire grew rapidly over the weekend amid dry and windy conditions, nearly doubling in size between Sunday and Monday morning to more than 19 square miles. It was burning out of control in a sparsely populated area despite the efforts of more than 600 firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and several interagency Hotshot crews.<\/p>\n

Read more San Diego County to experience mild \u2018May gray\u2019 weather through Memorial Day<\/a><\/p>\n

Adam Turner, a public information officer for the fire, said steep, rugged terrain has made it impossible for crews to engage the fire directly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what firefighters call \u2018mountain goat territory,\u2019\u201d said Turner, adding that crews were instead working to contain and steer the fire away from several evacuated cattle ranches to the northeast and the community of Arabella to the west.<\/p>\n

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A red flag warning remained in effect across southern New Mexico on Monday, with wind speeds forecast between 20-30 mph (32-50 kph).<\/p>\n

Read more Inmate dies after altercation at San Diego federal prison<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The blaze began after the plane crashed Thursday, killing all four people aboard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Mexico wildfire sparked by fatal medical plane crash spreads quickly in rural area - Los Angeles Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/losangelesmovinginsider.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/19\/new-mexico-wildfire-sparked-by-fatal-medical-plane-crash-spreads-quickly-in-rural-area\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Mexico wildfire sparked by fatal medical plane crash spreads quickly in rural area - 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