New Mexico village of Ruidoso orders residents to evacuate due to raging wildfires: "GO NOW"
Residents of the southern New Mexico village of Ruidoso were ordered to flee their homes Monday without even taking time to grab any belongings due to fast-moving wildfires that have left at least one person dead.
"GO NOW: Do not attempt to gather belongings or protect your home. Evacuate immediately," officials with Ruidoso, home to 7,000 people, said on its website and in social media posts at about 7 p.m.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a news conference on Tuesday afternoon that the region is still under evacuation orders and she will travel within 24 hours to the affected areas. The full extent of damage is not yet known, Grisham said, adding that the Bureau of Land Management is leading a team of six investigators to determine the cause of the wildfire.
"It will take time to do that work," Grisham said.
The governor's office confirmed to CBS News in an email Tuesday night that one person had died in the wildfires.
"Unfortunately, details are still very scarce so we are not saying anything more at this time," governor's spokesperson Michael Coleman added.
George Ducker, communications coordinator for the New Mexico state Forestry Division, told CBS News the South Fork Fire started Monday morning and was able to spread quickly because of the combination of heat, strong winds and the trees and vegetation in the area.
"When you have hot and dry conditions and a good amount of fuel, it can be a recipe for a fast-moving fire," Ducker said.
Traffic clogged downtown streets of the normally pastoral village and summer vacation destination for hours Monday as smoke darkened the evening sky and 100-foot flames climbed a ridgeline. By Tuesday morning, city webcams showed a deserted main street with smoke still wafting in the sky.
New Mexico wildfire map
Officials created a map showing where the South Fork Fire and the smaller Salt Fire were burning and what areas were at risk. State Forester Laura McCarthy said during Tuesday's news conference that the "fire is dangerous and fast-moving."
The weather is dynamic, and the spread of the fire will depend on how the winds shift, McCarthy said. Rain is forecasted for Thursday, and officials are waiting to see how much rainfall there will be and to what extent it will change fire behavior.
CBS Albuquerque affiliate KRQE-TV reported that Ruidoso officials said there was hot ash from the fire falling in parts of the nearby community of Alto. People were being asked to call 911 if they saw any hot ash spots or active flames.
"We were getting ready to sit down to a meal and the alert came on: Evacuate now, don't take anything or plan to pack anything, just evacuate," Mary Lou Minic told KOB-TV. "And within three to five minutes, we were in the car, leaving."
Accountant Steve Jones said he and his wife evacuated overnight as emergency crews arrived at their doorstep and dense smoke filled the Ruidoso valley, making it difficult to breathe.
"We had a 40-mph wind that was taking this fire all along the ridge, we could literally see 100-foot flames," said Jones, who relocated in a camper. "That's why it consumed so much acreage."
He said cellphone and internet service failed with the evacuation underway, while villagers tuned into AM radio for updates, packed up belongings and drove off from the town, which is about 130 miles southeast of Albuquerque.
"The traffic became bumper-to-bumper, slow-moving, and people's nerves became a little jangled," he said.
Fire emergency crews evacuated seven people from a local hospital and treated two people for non-life-threatening injuries, Grisham said. About 500 people are currently staying in shelters.
The Public Service Company of New Mexico shut off electricity to part of the village due to the fire, which had grown to at least 1,280 acres at the time the evacuation was ordered, KOAT-TV reported. The utility said it cut power to some 2,000 homes and businesses.
State police in southern New Mexico said they were experiencing phone outages that might impact emergency responses.
Ruidoso fire containment
As of Tuesday evening, officials said the South Fork Fire covered more than 20,000 acres and was zero percent contained. More than 800 personnel on the ground were working to contain the fire, Grishman said. An estimated 500 structures have been burned from the fire, but the extent of the damage wasn't immediately known. A portion of U.S. Highway 70 was closed south of the village.
The glow from the fire could be seen Monday night from a webcam in the downtown area, where lights were still on.
The South Fork Fire started Monday on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, where the tribal president issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency. It was burning on tribal and U.S. Forest Service land within areas surrounding Ruidoso.
The Salt Fire also was burning on the Mescalero reservation and southwest of Ruidoso. It was at 4,876 acres as of Tuesday morning with no containment, officials said.
Ruidoso fire pictures
The village of Ruidoso is about 75 miles west of Roswell, where several evacuation centers were set up. Roswell officials said provisions were also being made for people with recreational vehicles or large animals and that Roswell hospitals were trying to accommodate as many patients as possible who were being moved out of the Ruidoso hospital.
An air quality alert was issued for very unhealthy air in Ruidoso and surrounding areas due to smoke.
The Washington Post notes that the Federal Emergency Management Agency designated Ruidoso as a high-risk area in 2000 due to the thick forests surrounding it. They could serve as fuel for wildfires and lead to "catastrophic" damage, FEMA said.
