FBI offers up to $10,000 for information on possible New Mexico wildfire arsonists

By Serdar Dincel

ISTANBUL (AA) - The FBI announced a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of suspected arsonists who may have deliberately started two deadly wildfires that ravaged large areas of the southern state of New Mexico last week.

The federal agency, which said it was still investigating the cause of the South Fork Fire and Salt Fire, indicated that one or more individuals may have started the blaze on June 17. The reward is on offer for assistance in identifying the "person or persons responsible for starting the fires," CBS News reported Sunday evening.

New Mexico State Police said on June 19 that it had confirmed two fire-related deaths in the resort mountain town of Ruidoso. The fires were reported to have scorched a total area of over 24,000 acres.

Over the past week, New Mexico has faced not only fires but also a dust storm and devastating flooding.

It has been a "hell of a week here," New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.