New Mexico Residents Brace For Extreme Wildfire Conditions

The worst could be yet to come.

With the worst of the thick wildfire smoke having blown out of town, residents of this small northern New Mexico city tried to recapture a sense of normalcy Saturday as their rural neighbors hunkered down amid predictions of extreme fire conditions.

Shops and restaurants reopened, the historic center was no longer just populated by firefighters, but there was a widely felt sense of anxiety, loss, and wariness of what lay ahead.

"It's literally like living under a dark cloud," said Liz Birmingham, whose daughter had persistent headaches from the smoke. "It's unnerving."