Mayor says searches underway for more possible victims

By Diana Alba Soular
Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative

SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO – Steady rain fell in Ruidoso on Friday, a welcome relief to hot, dry weather that helped to fuel two forest fires that have burned parts of the mountaintop village and neighboring Mescalero Apache Reservation.

Rain started about 10 a.m. and continued steadily for several hours, said Kerry Gladden, spokesperson for the Village of Ruidoso.

“It’s not as heavy as we had anticipated, but it's still heavy enough to be causing a flow,” she said.

Nearly one-third of an inch fell during an hour-long period at one point Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Officials issued an alert to residents over concerns about more flash flooding in low-lying areas, a threat first seen Wednesday when a big storm hit several burn scars. Gladden said the area had seen more debris flows Friday, a type of fast-moving and dangerous mudslide.

Thunderstorms were possible and could worsen flash flooding.

Abundant humidity and light rain were expected to slow the spread of the South Fork Fire, burning in the west and north of the village, and the Salt Fire, burning to the south. Officials said this favorable turn in weather should last a few days and give crews a chance to make headway toward containing the blazes.

For the second day in a row, firefighters weren’t able to do an aerial survey of the blazes’ growth because of cloud cover. The fires are still considered 0% contained. 

Ruidoso and adjacent Ruidoso Downs remain under mandatory evacuation orders, although some people never heeded them and remain living in their homes.

Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford posted a video update on Facebook saying the National Guard is in the village and protecting evacuated properties. Searches are underway for more possible victims.

“We do have severe damage; we do have teams that are coming in with dogs to look for loss of life,” he said. “So out of respect for those families, we ask you to stay out of those areas. In fact, we're going to be enforcing it.”

Two people are confirmed to have died in the blazes. 

A preliminary estimate is that 1,400 structures were damaged or destroyed by fire. Those can include homes, businesses, and structures that aren’t dwellings, like outbuildings. Thousands of people remain displaced by the disaster and face an uncertain time line about when they can return to properties not damaged by the fires.

Friday, U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Luján and Sen. Martin Heinrich toured Roswell and Mescalero, places where evacuees are staying, and the emergency operations in Ruidoso.

The Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative is a partnership of local newsrooms working together to cover important topics in the southern half of the state. More info: www.southNMnews.org or www.surNMnoticias.org.