RATON, N.M. — A wildfire on Ted Turner’s rugged Vermejo Park Ranch grew to 4,000 acres Tuesday, but firefighters said flames were 25 miles from any buildings.
Ranch general manager David Vackar said the fire, which broke out last weekend, was driven by winds of 30 to 35 mph Tuesday. Firefighters hoped cooler weather and rainfall predicted for Wednesday would quell the flames.
About 15 people were fighting the fire, which appeared to have been started by lightning, Vackar said.
Turner, who founded the Cable News Network and other cable TV stations, bought the 578,000-acre Vermejo Park Ranch in 1996 from Pennzoil Corp. It comprises 548,000 acres in New Mexico and 30,000 acres in Colorado.
