This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

A wildfire erupted on Oakmont Road in Timberon Friday, May 3 forcing the evacuation of local neighborhoods as firefighters continue to attempt to contain the blaze.

The wildfire, dubbed the Oakmont Fire, was discovered at approximately 12:28 p.m., according to a report by the New Mexico Forestry Division.

Since then evacuations have been ordered in the area of Sacramento Drive and Paradise Valley Drive. Those evacuated are being provided shelter at Cloudcroft High School located at 10 Swallow place in Cloudcroft.

Otero County opened its fairgrounds at 401 Fairgrounds Road in Alamogordo for animals and livestock to be evacuated to. Circle Cross Ranch at 1282 Sacramento Drive is also accepting animals in need of evacuation.

Here’s what we know about the blaze.

Wildfire erupts in Sacramento Mountains

Timberon is within the Sacramento Mountains and within Otero County limits. There cause of the ignition is unknown.

The fire is burning pinon, juniper and pine fuels within a populated neighborhood.

As of 8:45 p.m. the Oakmont Fire has reached approximately 100 acres and is 0% contained, according to a news release.

The fire was reported to be exhibiting “torching behavior” meaning it has moved from the ground up to crowns of trees.

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Road to Timberon close as firefighters attempt to contain the blaze

“All roads in and out of Timberon are currently restricted with no estimated time of opening,” George Ducker, communications coordinator for the New Mexico Forestry Division, said in the release.

Officials have asked locals to refrain from calling 911 unless it is an emergency.

Firefighters are reportedly attempting to suppress the fire using air support, a tactic that officials said has proven effective in slowing the fire.

A Type three Incident Management Team has been ordered to take command. A Type three incident management team consists of 10 to 20 people in different areas of the fire handling major and complex incidents within the community.

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Otero County has released resources such as local fire department and law enforcement to help with efforts to contain the blaze expected to last until Saturday morning.

“Crews are responding from Forestry Division, the US Forest Service, Otero County, and local volunteer fire departments. These include large air tanker and helicopter support, and the Smokey Bear and Sacramento Hotshot Crews,” Ducker said.

There will be increased activity in the area as firefighters and equipment will be relocating as needed. Ultimately, full containment is not expected until Monday, May 6 as winds may pick up over the weekend.

“West/southwest wind 12-17 mph, decreasing to 6 to 11 miles per hour after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 24 mph. Tomorrow’s high near 73 degrees. North wind 7 to 16 mph becoming south in the morning. Gusts as high as 23 mph,” according to the news release.

The public can continue to follow updates on the fire at the New Mexico Forestry Division’s X account or Facebook page.

Juan Corral can be reached at JCorral@gannett.com or on twitter at @Juan36Corr.

LOS RANCHOS, N.M. – It’s business as usual on 4th Street and Osuna as crews continue construction on a 12-acre multi-use center in Los Ranchos.

“In the face of the allegations of not complying with the law, and in the face of the planning and zoning commission that they shouldn’t be doing this, even today after the judge has ruled, they are still doing construction,” said Mel Eaves, who is a member of Friends of Los Ranchos.

However, some Los Ranchos residents say there is a lot more happening behind the scenes. Developers started construction in late 2022 which came as a surprise to many residents who say they never held the proper public meetings to get approval to break ground.

“Those procedures require public notice to the residents, and they require that decisions be made in open public meetings,” said Eaves.

Eaves is also a retired attorney and has helped Friends of Los Ranchos pursue legal action. He said when they noticed the construction they warned the Village leadership and developers that they were planning to pursue legal action if they did not follow procedure.

“During that time, we filed briefs, cited the law and told them we were opposed to it. They really didn’t pay any attention to us if anything I think they speeded the construction up,” he said.

More than a year later a district court judge has ruled that developers and village leadership did in fact violate the Open Meetings Act and none of the plans drawn up this far for the project are valid.

“All actions, all approvals previously done in violation of the law are invalid. That means they do not have valid authority to do what they are doing today,” said Eaves.

The victory for Los Ranchos residents is now dimmed as construction continues at the site. Eaves said they will continue to put pressure on new village leadership to put an end to it.

“The board of trustees and the mayor now have the authority and I say the duty, to go to district court and stop construction and to assess a penalty and they ultimately can ask the court to remove the construction,” Eaves said.

KOB 4 reached out to developers and Los Ranchos leadership about the judge’s ruling. They shared the following statement:

“We want a chance to review with Legal Council and the Board, the case finding and implications. We have a posted special meeting to get that understanding.”

They will have a closed meeting on Monday, May 6 to discuss their options moving forward.

Central New Mexico Community College announced on Thursday that it will build a quantum science lab and develop a training boot camp as a means to bolster workforce needs in the field of quantum computing. 

The new lab and workforce development program at the community college are supported by more than $800,000 in federal funding and through partnerships with Sandia National Laboratories and the University of New Mexico. The community college has deployed other “deep dive” bootcamps, which consist of 10-12 week courses focused on coding, data science, digital media and other technical areas. 

“Quantum computing may seem like science fiction, but it is a reality and New Mexico will be a leading center for its practical applications across a multitude of fields,” said Kyle Lee, who leads workforce development programs at the college, in a press release. “We will be one of the first and most accessible programs to build out this exciting opportunity for individuals and companies who want to harness quantum systems’ extraordinary capabilities.”

Students will be able to learn about quantum computing processes through a 10-week boot camp program and leave with skills to build, operate, maintain quantum systems and enter the workforce, the release said. Brian Rashap, an instructor with the college’s workforce training program, said that the lab is projected to welcome its first cohort of students in spring 2025. 

“There are very few formal quantum training programs like this, so it’s incredibly special that CNM is paving the way in that sense,” Rashap said. “We’re designing this program to serve employers and students in a really cutting-edge way, so if you’re interested in this kind of hands-on, innovative training this is the place to be.”