Thousands of acres in New Mexico have been scarred by a pair of wildfires that spurred evacuation calls for dozens of homes and shut down a state highway.

New Mexico wildfire (Getty Images)
New Mexico wildfire (Getty Images)
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Officials say the fire in New Mexico's Santa Fe National Forest had grown to nearly four square miles by last night and is totally uncontained. Officials asked residents in 140 homes -- mostly used for the summer -- to leave as crews battled the blaze near the communities of Pecos and Tres Lagunas, about 25 miles east of Santa Fe. They also evacuated campgrounds and closed trailheads.

A second, smaller wildfire about 50 miles northwest of Albuquerque has also caused evacuations. The forestry service says the Thompson Ridge fire near Jemez Springs started Friday afternoon and had grown to about 725 acres. About 50 homes in the area had been evacuated and one home was damaged by the fire.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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