Wildfire forces southern New Mexico town of Ruidoso to evacuate

Residents in Ruidoso, N.M. were ordered to leave their belongings behind and immediately evacuate as haze from the nearby wildfires hovered over the town.

The South Fork Fire was spreading just northwest of the town of 7,700 people. As of Monday evening, flames charred 5,200 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. By 9 a.m. Tuesday, the fire had spread to nearly 14,000 acres, according to officials in Ruidoso. The fire is burning with zero containment.

First spotted at 9 a.m. local time on Monday, the fire was threatening multiple structures, according to the New Mexico Forestry Division. The nearby Salt Fire has grown to about 4,900 acres.

There are just over 4,000 customers without power in Ruidoso, according to Public Service Company of New Mexico — the state’s largest electricity provider — which said it had turned off equipment to help aid firefighting efforts.

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“Please do not try to gather belongings or protect your home — GO NOW,” officials said. All of the roads into Ruidoso are closed. State police are barricading entry points.

Evacuation centers were set up at the Inn of the Mountain Gods, a lodging facility about three miles south of Ruidoso, and at Eastern New Mexico University at Roswell, about 65 miles to the east. The Mescalero Rodeo Grounds were holding evacuated livestock.

A live webcam showed heavy traffic heading east, as haze and smoke filled the skies.

State officials could not immediately identify the cause of the fire. “Due to fire activity and rapid growth, hand and engine crews were unable to respond to the fire’s front; air resources have been performing drops throughout the afternoon,” the New Mexico Forestry Division said.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said on social media that she was in contact with state, tribal and federal officials about the fires, and she urged residents to remain calm and heed authorities’ instructions.

Officials deemed Ruidoso a high-risk area in 2000 because of the thick forests surrounding the town that can serve as fuel for wildfire, resulting in “catastrophic” damage to residential properties, the water supply and the local population, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The New Mexico Forestry Division that year ranked the town first in the state for significant risk of catastrophic fire, and the U.S. Forestry Service ranked it second in the country. Since then the village has worked with local, state and federal authorities on a wildfire protection plan.

Last month, the Blue 2 Fire ignited north of Ruidoso, burning more than 7,500 acres and causing $25 million in damage, according to the NIFC. In 2022, the McBride Fire erupted near the town, burning at least 4,000 acres, destroying 200 homes and killing two people. The 2000 Cree Fire burned 8,200 acres but caused no fatalities.

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