Grass fires plague homes in New Mexico

? Wind-whipped grass fires Saturday pushed into affluent residential areas in the pine-studded southern New Mexico mountains, burning at least 32 homes and forcing more than 1,300 residents to evacuate.

Two fires consumed at least 3,400 acres, including 1,000 acres in the Kokopelli fire, named after a subdivision where the homes burned, firefighters said.

A blaze called the 5-2 Fire, which started on the Mescalero Apache reservation, burned about 2,400 acres, according to the state Public Safety Department.

No injuries have been reported, officials said.

The Kokopelli fire started around noon in a residential driveway, said Lincoln County sheriff Tom Sullivan. He said the possibility of arson was under investigation.

“It’s very suspicious the way it started,” Sullivan said. “It’s just in an area where there wasn’t anybody around.”