Ruidoso, a community in New Mexico, was ordered to evacuate its residents immediately on Monday due to a wildfire that started that morning and spread to over 5,000 acres by the end of the day, according to officials.
Just before 7 p.m., the village authority posted on Facebook in all capital letters, “Mandatory “go” evacuation of the Village of Ruidoso effective immediately.”
On Monday morning, the South Fork Fire was detected on the Mescalero Reservation to the west of the hamlet, which has a population of about 7,000. By 11:30 p.m., the fire had spread to an estimated 5,252 acres, according to the New Mexico Forestry Division.
According to the division, “Extreme fire behavior and quick-fire growth have been observed.” Late on Monday, the fire had 100% containment.
The town’s people have been issued multiple orders of evacuation, telling them to leave right now and cautioning them not to attempt to protect their property or pack belongings.
For individuals escaping their houses, the Red Cross opened an emergency shelter on Tuesday morning. The town’s access highways, 48 and 70, were closed.
As of Monday night, there don’t seem to be any reported deaths. Government incident websites did not specify how many buildings were lost, but they did indicate that several structures were in danger.
Mary Lou Minic was aware of the nearby fire, but she was unaware of the extent of the threat. On Monday night, she was one of the people who was now secure at a Roswell evacuation center.
Minic said to NBC affiliate KOB of Albuquerque, “We were getting ready to sit down to a meal when the alert came on: Evacuate now, don’t take anything or plan to pack anything, just evacuate.” “And in three or five minutes, we were driving away.”
According to Ruidoso’s administration, hot ash from the fire was falling near Alto, a village to the north of Ruidoso. It stated that a portion of US Highway 70 close to the reserve was closed.
On its website, the reservation stated that there were fire and vehicle restrictions and closures in place, and that Mescalero conservation was going door to door to advise residents in affected areas to leave right away.
According to Ruidoso’s administration, hot ash from the fire was falling near Alto, a village to the north of Ruidoso. It stated that a portion of US Highway 70 close to the reserve was closed.
On its website, the reservation stated that there were fire and vehicle restrictions and closures in place, and that Mescalero conservation was going door to door to advise residents in affected areas to leave right away.
About 70 miles east of Ruidoso, in Roswell, there was an evacuation center set up at the gym of Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell. The neighboring city of Alamogordo also announced that firemen would be responding.
On Monday night, the sky behind Midtown Ruidoso appeared to be burning red, as captured via a webcam. The brilliance was gone by Tuesday morning, but the town was shrouded in dense smoke.
About 130 miles southeast of Albuquerque, in the Sierra Blanca mountain range, are Ruidoso, Alto, and the reserve.
The cause of the fire is being looked into.
The fire started while “red flag” warnings were in effect across a large portion of the American Southwest, including sections of New Mexico, due to the potential of flames caused by extremely dry air and winds.
A wildfire that has burnt around 1,900 acres in Calaveras County, California, east of Stockton, also prompted emergency evacuations on Monday.
The fire caused almost 5,000 people to lose power. A wall of dense smoke and planes dropping pink fire retardant ahead of the fire were visible in aerial footage.
Near Aero Road and Hunt Road in Copperopolis, the so-called Aero Fire began at approximately 3:20 p.m., according to Cal Fire, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
CORRECTION (11:56 p.m. ET on June 17, 2024): This page originally listed the wrong fire that was raging in the Mescalero Reservation. It’s not the Salt Fork Fire; it’s the South Fork Fire.