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Fire Managers Prep For Jaroso Fire To Make 'Hard Run'

A wildfire burning in the Pecos Wilderness north of Santa Fe has ballooned to more than 12 square miles in two days, and fire managers say it's still too dangerous to put any firefighters on the ground.

The only option for battling the Jaroso Fire is a fleet of water-dropping helicopters.

The fire management officer for the Santa Fe National Forest, Duane Archuleta, says the canyons are too narrow and steep to allow for any of the big air tankers.

Archuleta says the other problem is the area has an immense amount of fuel that has built up over the years. He says it's now burning through an area where dead trees are stacked up to five feet high.

There are also pockets of bug-killed timber that are dry and ready to ignite.