One person is dead and about 1,400 structures were destroyed in New Mexico wildfires that forced the evacuation of an entire town of more than 7,000 people, officials said Tuesday, as the fire remained active and uncontained.
The South Fork Fire broke out Monday morning on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, and what was a fire of about 360 acres was 15,276 acres as of Tuesday night, the New Mexico Division of Forestry said. The Salt Fire burned approximately 5,557 acres.
Both fires were 0% contained on Tuesday, officials said. Their cause is under investigation.
Approximately 1,400 homes and other structures were lost, the Forestry Division said in an update.
Michael Coleman, communications director for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office, confirmed one death, but the office had no other details to immediately release.
The village of Ruidoso, a town of about 7,700 people west of the Apache reservation, was ordered to evacuate Monday as the fire advanced. On Tuesday afternoon, people in the nearby community of Ruidoso Downs were asked to leave the area.
“We are employing all available resources to control these wildfires,” Grisham he said when declaring a state of emergency to Lincoln County and the Mescalero Apache Reservation.
Grisham also sent the National Guard to help. An emergency declaration allows for additional funding and other assistance.
A couple who fled Ruidoso told NBC affiliate KOB of Albuquerque they left within minutes of receiving the evacuation alert. Other areas were also told to evacuate due to the fire.
New Mexico State Forester Laura McCarthy said there was “extreme fire behavior” and it began to increase again on Tuesday.
“This fire is dangerous and moving quickly,” McCarthy said at a news conference. “The winds are strong. They’re not quite at red flag level, but they’re close.”
In Ruidoso, not everyone lives in the mountain town full time and about 5,000 people have been evacuated from there, she said. Most are staying with family and friends, and about 500 were in shelters in Roswell or at a center on the reservation, the state forester said.
Ruidoso Downs has a population of about 2,400 and is east of Ruidoso. The evacuation was ordered after a run of the Salt Fire, authorities said.
At least two people were treated for injuries, Grisham said.
The weather is expected to change, but results could be mixed when it comes to fires, McCarthy said. Winds began shifting to come from the west on Tuesday in an “indirect cold front” that could arrive Thursday or possibly Wednesday, she said, but could also bring moisture to the fire region.
“It’s both bad news and good news from a meteorological perspective,” McCarthy said. “It also means this fire will be dynamic, at least until we see how much rain materializes.”
The changing wind raises the possibility that more homes and other structures could be affected, McCarthy said.
The Division of Forestry said “this is a full suppression fire” and that the focus is on building fire lines and protecting homes and properties.
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