A second death was reported Wednesday from two wildfires in New Mexico that forced the evacuation of thousands of people in and around the city of Ruidoso and destroyed about 1,400 structures.
Both bodies were found Tuesday, a day after the fires started and spread quickly, New Mexico State Police spokesman Wilson Silver said.
One person was found in a burned vehicle in the South Fork Fire in the village of Ruidoso, which was ordered to evacuate Monday, Wilson said. That person was not identified.
The body of the second person, Patrick Pearson, 60, was found on the side of a road near the Swiss Chalet Motel with burns from the fire, Wilson said.
About 8,000 people in Ruidoso and surrounding areas have been ordered to evacuate due to the South Fork Fire and Salt Fire, which broke out Monday morning on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.
Both fires were 0% contained and what caused them remains under investigation.
The fires have destroyed about 1,400 structures and are expected to increase Wednesday, the New Mexico Division of Forestry said.
Authorities believe about 500 homes were among the approximately 1,400 structures destroyed in the fire, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said at a news conference Wednesday night, but cautioned that the number of homes lost has not been confirmed.
Grisham said the loss of homes makes “this one of the most devastating fires in New Mexico history.”
The South Fork Fire has burned about 16,335 acres, and the Salt Fire has burned about 7,071 acres, the state Division of Forestry said in a statement. Then to update Wednesday.
The South Fork Fire rages in and beyond Ruidoso to the west and north, according to fire maps from the state Division of Forestry, while the Salt Fire rages south of the town of about 7,500 people. A fire rush in Salt Fork forced the evacuation of the Ruidoso Downs community on Tuesday, officials said.
Grisham called the wildfires a crisis and declared a state of emergency, which allows for greater help. She vowed that all resources were being sent to help and also sent members of the National Guard to help.
It rained in the area on Wednesday, but also caused flash flooding caused by runoff from burn scars, the National Weather Service said.
“We’re not out of the woods,” Grisham said, despite the change in climate.
She said there have been at least three emergency rescues and that number is expected to grow. People should stay out of evacuation zones and never cross any floodwaters anywhere, she said.
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