Firefighters fight brush fire at I-40 and Route 66

A grass fire that was started on Interstate 40 was brought under control Monday in about 30 minutes and about 50 yards from a Tucumcari gas dealership, a fire official said.

The fire was in a commercial district on East Route 66 at I-40.

The fire was reported about 10 a. m. and a half hour later the fire was controlled, said Deputy Fire Chief Kalon Lafferty.

Five units were called in to fight the fire, Lafferty said. Three units from District 2, two units from District 1 and three from the Tucumcari Fire Department

“Everyone did a  great job, and stopped it,” Lafferty said.

In spite of the dry and windy conditions, Tucumcari has not had that many brush fires, Lafferty said.

“We’ve been pretty lucky,” he said.