As high winds eased Wednesday, firefighters slowed the advance of the country's largest wildfire. At the same time, President Joe Biden signed a disaster declaration that will send new financial resources to isolated regions of New Mexico devastated by fire since early April.

Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez announced the presidential disaster declaration during an evening briefing by the US Forest Service on efforts to contain a raging wildfire in northeastern New Mexico that engulfed 250 square miles (647 square kilometers) of high alpine forest and grasslands at the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains.

"It will assist us in rebuilding and will assist us with the expenses and hardships that people are currently experiencing," the lawmaker stated. "We're relieved it occurred so quickly."

Fire officials said they are taking advantage of a brief period of relatively quiet and cold weather to avoid the fire from advancing toward the small New Mexico city of Las Vegas and other settlements dispersed along the fire's shifting fronts. While ground teams cut timber and brush to starve the fire along critical fronts, planes and helicopters dropped slurries of crimson fire retardant from the sky.

For days, bulldozers scraped fire lines on the outskirts of Las Vegas, population 13,000, while crews burned neighboring vegetation. Aircraft dropped additional fire retardant as a secondary line of defense along a ridge west of town in advance of the weekend's forecast high winds.

Mandatory evacuations have affected an estimated 15,500 residences in remote areas and valleys of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains surrounding Las Vegas. Around 170 homes were damaged in the fire.

The president's disaster proclamation provides essential funding for recovery operations in three counties in northeastern New Mexico, where flames continue to burn, and sections of southern New Mexico where wind-driven blazes killed two people and destroyed more than 200 houses in mid-April.

According to a White House statement, grants for temporary housing and house repairs, low-interest loans to cover uninsured property damages, and other relief programs for individuals and companies are included in the assistance.

Officials from local law enforcement acknowledged extended evacuations' physical and emotional toll. Chief Antonio Salazar of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said his officers would conduct "burglary patrols" of evacuated areas and assist with maintaining order at a local Walmart as people lined up to purchase supplies.

"One of the things we're very interested in is repopulation," San Miguel County Sheriff Chris Lopez said. "Everyone wishes to return home."

Dan Pearson, a federal government fire behavior specialist, forecasts anticipate two days of comparatively mild winds before the resumption of powerful spring gales.

"Our prayers are bearing fruit, as we've had favorable winds across the fire area today," he said. "Over the next three days, we'll capitalize on this fact. We can, nevertheless, create robust pockets."

Only 20% of the perimeter of the fire was confined. On Wednesday, its flames were only a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Las Vegas, with schools closed and residents bracing for a possible evacuation.

Los Alamos National Laboratory officials were on high alert Wednesday as another wildfire came close to about 5 miles (8 kilometers) of the United States national defense laboratory in Los Alamos.

While removing the underbrush and treating the area with fire retardants, firefighters tried to widen a route that separates the fire from Los Alamos.

Scientists and fire specialists believe that wildfires have become a year-round menace in the drought-stricken West, moving faster and burning hotter than ever before due to climate change. Additionally, fire experts emphasize overgrown places where plants might exacerbate wildfire conditions.

Nationally, the National Interagency Fire Center stated Wednesday that a dozen significant fires that have not been suppressed have consumed around 436 square miles (1,129 square kilometers) of land in five states.