Ruidoso, N.M. — Residents of a village in southern New Mexico were ordered to flee their homes Monday without even taking time to grab any belongings due to a fast-moving wildfire.
“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.
Public Service Company of New Mexico shut off electricity to part of the village due to the fire, which had grown to at least 2 square miles at the time the evacuation was ordered, KOAT-TV reported. The utility said it cut power to some 2,000 homes and businesses but they should have cleared out anyway.
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.
Pamela L. Bonner via Reuters
State Police in southern New Mexico said they were experiencing phone outages that might impact emergency responses to emergencies.
As of late Monday evening, the state Forestry Division said the blaze covered some 8.2 square miles and was zero percent contained. The agency said multiple structures are under threat and a number have been lost. 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.
A second fire, called the Salt Fire, also was burning on the Mescalero reservation and southwest of Ruidoso. It was over 4.3 square miles as of Monday night with no containment, the forestry division said.
Kaylee Greenlee Beal / REUTERS
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 RVs and/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 FEMA designated Ruidoso as a high-risk area in 2000 due to the thick forests surrounding it. The could serve as fuel for wildfires and lead to “catastrophic” damage, FEMA said.