<p>Firefighters in New Mexico failed on Friday to pin back the flames of the United States' largest wildfire, which is burning perilously close to a string of mountain villages.</p>.<p>The blaze is the most destructive of dozens in the US Southwest that are more widespread and burning earlier than normal in the year due to climate change, scientists say.</p>.<p>Thousands of people in the Mora valley, about 64 km northeast of Santa Fe, prepared to evacuate as smoke billowed from the forest around the nearby farming community of Ledoux.</p>.<p>High winds blew embers over a mile, spreading a wildfire that has scorched about 75,000 acres (30,351 hectares), or 303 sq km, of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains since April 6, destroying hundreds of homes and structures.</p>.<p>"It looks very scary out there," incident commander Carl Schwope told a briefing. "With the rate of spread, it's very difficult for us to get any fire control."</p>.<p>Winds were expected to blow from the south on Saturday, pushing the blaze towards villages such as Mora, as well as the city of Las Vegas, with a population of 14,000, fire officials said.</p>.<p>"It's coming, and it's here," said Mora County sheriff's official Americk Padilla, urging residents to evacuate to the towns of Taos and Angel Fire if requested.</p>.<p>More than two decades of extreme drought have turned forested mountains and valleys into a tinderbox, said fire expert Stewart Turner.</p>.<p>"It's moving a lot faster than we anticipated," Turner said of the blaze. "This is a very, very serious fire."</p>.<p>Locals lashed out at the US Forest Service for a deliberate, "controlled burn" meant to reduce fire risk that inadvertently started part of the blaze.</p>.<p>"The US Forest Service needs to be held accountable," said Skip Finley, a former Mora County commissioner, as he loaded his car to evacuate his home.</p>.<p><strong>Check out latest DH videos here</strong></p>
<p>Firefighters in New Mexico failed on Friday to pin back the flames of the United States' largest wildfire, which is burning perilously close to a string of mountain villages.</p>.<p>The blaze is the most destructive of dozens in the US Southwest that are more widespread and burning earlier than normal in the year due to climate change, scientists say.</p>.<p>Thousands of people in the Mora valley, about 64 km northeast of Santa Fe, prepared to evacuate as smoke billowed from the forest around the nearby farming community of Ledoux.</p>.<p>High winds blew embers over a mile, spreading a wildfire that has scorched about 75,000 acres (30,351 hectares), or 303 sq km, of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains since April 6, destroying hundreds of homes and structures.</p>.<p>"It looks very scary out there," incident commander Carl Schwope told a briefing. "With the rate of spread, it's very difficult for us to get any fire control."</p>.<p>Winds were expected to blow from the south on Saturday, pushing the blaze towards villages such as Mora, as well as the city of Las Vegas, with a population of 14,000, fire officials said.</p>.<p>"It's coming, and it's here," said Mora County sheriff's official Americk Padilla, urging residents to evacuate to the towns of Taos and Angel Fire if requested.</p>.<p>More than two decades of extreme drought have turned forested mountains and valleys into a tinderbox, said fire expert Stewart Turner.</p>.<p>"It's moving a lot faster than we anticipated," Turner said of the blaze. "This is a very, very serious fire."</p>.<p>Locals lashed out at the US Forest Service for a deliberate, "controlled burn" meant to reduce fire risk that inadvertently started part of the blaze.</p>.<p>"The US Forest Service needs to be held accountable," said Skip Finley, a former Mora County commissioner, as he loaded his car to evacuate his home.</p>.<p><strong>Check out latest DH videos here</strong></p>