New Mexico officials said Monday firefighters have nearly contained a wildfire that burned more than 1,000 acres of grassland near Socorro.
About 70 percent of the Mitchell Fire has been contained since it broke out Saturday, said Dan Ware, a spokesman for the New Mexico State Forestry Division.
A private landowner was operating a grinder and a spark ignited some nearby grass, he said.
Large plumes of smoke could be seen Monday coming from the fire area in central New Mexico. Crews were completing burnout work and putting out hotspots within the fire zone, Ware said.
Grass and brush may pose more of a fire threat this season in New Mexico than mountain forests. The wet winter was good for the heavy timber, but it spurred the growth of grasses and brush, which will soon be drying out.
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