A wildfire burning in the Gila National Forest consumed nearly 20,000 more acres in a day and is now, by far, the largest blaze on record in New Mexico, a fire incident spokesman told msnbc.com.
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"It's certainly not a record we're happy with," Gerry Perry said in reporting that aerial infrared readings last night led to a new count: 170,272 acres, or 265 square miles, burned -- up from 152,000 acres on Tuesday.
The Whitewater-Baldy Complex Fire surpassed the 2011 Las Conchas Fire, which had been the largest on record in New Mexico at 157,000 acres. That blaze threatened property around Los Alamos National Laboratory, the nation's premier nuclear facility.
