Ranger Office Blast Deliberate

An explosion that damaged a U.S. Forest Service office in northern New Mexico was deliberate, officials said Monday.

The blast, which occurred Saturday when no one was in the office, caused about $25,000 in damage, said FBI spokesman Doug Beldon. The explosion blew out a window and cracked a rear wall.

The Forest Service has been embroiled for months in a dispute between environmentalists and Hispanic families over logging and gathering firewood in northern New Mexico’s national forests.