By TYLER GREEN
Daily Press Staff Writer
The cause of a brush fire involving a stand of trees northeast of Artesia that began around 8 p.m. Sunday evening is currently undetermined.
There were no heat sources near the area of the fire and the blaze was not determined to have been ignited by any natural causes.
The fire occurred in a grove of trees and an adjacent field north of Richey Avenue. The blaze lasted for a little over an hour and burned approximately 40 acres. A portion of Richey Avenue was closed to traffic as a precaution due to uncertainty of how the wind may affect the fire. No structures were immediately threatened and the winds blew in firefighters’ favor allowing for quick extinguishment. Active flame was down and progress of the fire was brought to an end around 9:30 p.m.