Carlsbad Caverns National Park Closed Due to Wildfire

One of my favorite day trip locations here in the El Paso area is Carlsbad Caverns National Park, which right now is closed due to a large wildfire:

 

A fast-moving brush fire caused the evacuation and closure of Carlsbad Caverns National Park on Monday, the latest in a string of wildfires to strike the Southwest.

The popular tourist attraction with its iconic caverns and bat flights will remain closed today, said Paula Bauer, a spokeswoman for the park.

By Monday night, the fire had spread to about 2,000 acres and was threatening 22 park buildings though none had burned, Bauer said. Visitors and staff had left the park. There were no reported injuries.

“It just blew up from nowhere,” Park Superintendent John Benjamin said. “We have no idea what caused it. We are very worried.”

Visitors were evacuated from Carlsbad Caverns National Park on Monday afternoon due to the large, fast moving wildfire just south of the visitors center, a park spokeswoman said.

The fire was dubbed the Loop Fire, after the scenic loop drive, one of the areas where it is burning.  [El Paso Times]

For those that haven’t been to the park before there really isn’t any trees there, mostly just hills with grass and desert flora.  Here is a picture of the terrain from one of my prior visits to the park:

So once they put the fires out the environment should recover rather quickly.