Over 1,000 firefighters were battling the largest active wildfire in the United States when strong winds pushed it across some control lines and closer to a small town in northern New Mexico.

On Saturday, calmer winds boosted the firefighting effort after gusts increased the fire's advance to the point where "we were watching the fire march about a mile every hour" on Friday, according to fire operations official Jayson Coil.

According to Mike Johnson, a fire management team spokesperson, Ash carried seven miles (11 kilometers) in the air and had dropped on Las Vegas, a city of roughly 13,000 people, and firefighters were attempting to keep the fire from spreading.

However, fire managers encouraged residents to remain watchful for additional probable evacuation orders in the coming days and the effects of smoke.

Stewart Turner, a fire behavior analyst with the fire management team, warned Saturday that the expected winds would make for a "very serious week."

The National Weather Service anticipated increased fire danger for regions of New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado on Sunday.

According to officials, mapping imagery suggested that the fire, which has destroyed at least 166 residences, expanded from 103 square miles (266 square kilometers) on Friday to 152 square miles (393 square kilometers) by early Saturday. The fire was described as 30% contained during a briefing Saturday evening.

Winds gusted over 65 mph (105 kph) in northern New Mexico on Friday before diminishing as nightfall approached. By Saturday, planes capable of dumping fire retardants and water could restart operations to assist ground troops and bulldozers.

The quick spread of the fire Friday's hazardous weather caused troops to change positions frequently, but they could re-engage without being forced to retreat, Coil said. There were no reported injuries.

The fire began on April 6 when firefighters declared an out-of-control prescribed burn to clear tiny trees and brush that can ignite fires. A week ago, that fire was joined with another blaze.

With the fire's recent growth, the number of individuals ordered to leave primarily rural areas and a neighborhood near Las Vegas has more than doubled, from 1,500 to 2,000 to between 3,000 and 4,000, according to Jesus Romero, San Miguel County's assistant manager.

According to officials, the blaze destroyed 277 structures, including at least 166 dwellings. Romero stated that no updated damage assessments were available on Saturday.

Additionally, wildfires were raging in other parts of New Mexico and Arizona. Experts say the fires are incredibly intense and quick this year, particularly in the Southwest, where some timber is drier than kiln-dried wood.

According to scientists, wildfires have become a year-round concern in the West due to shifting conditions such as earlier snowmelt and rain arriving later in the fall. The difficulties have been compounded by decades of fire suppression and inadequate management and a more than two-decade-long megadrought linked to human-caused climate change, according to research.

In northern Arizona, firefighters are closing in on the complete containment of a 30-square-mile (77-square-kilometer) conflagration that damaged at least 30 homes and caused hundreds to leave. On Friday, a high-level national wildfire management team returned control of the blaze to local firefighting personnel.

National forests around Arizona have announced that they will begin enforcing fire restrictions next Thursday, limiting campfires to developed recreation areas and restricting smoking to automobiles, other enclosed spaces, and recreation areas.