This satellite image shows wildfires burning near Ruidoso on Wednesday. The cause of the blazes that have destroyed an estimated 1,400 structures is still under investigation.
Growth of the South Fork and Salt fires stalled Thursday in the aftermath of rain, though hundreds of firefighters continued to battle the destructive blazes near Ruidoso.
As of midmorning Thursday, the South Fork Fire had burned 16,335 acres and the Salt Fire had burned 7,071, a total of over 23,000 acres combined and the same numbers reported around noon Wednesday by an incident management team that had taken command of the response, Southwest Area Team 5.
Later Thursday, at a virtual community meeting, Incident Commander Dave Gesser said the Salt Fire had grown about 500 acres from Wednesday to Thursday while the South Fork Fire had grown only 14 acres. Both remain uncontained.
This satellite image shows wildfires burning near Ruidoso on Wednesday. The cause of the blazes that have destroyed an estimated 1,400 structures is still under investigation.
Maxar Technologies via The Associated Press
Fire managers expect “very little growth” in the fires through the weekend, fire behavior analyst Arthur Gonzales said at the meeting.
Rain on Wednesday dampened the fires but presented new concerns for residents and emergency managers as flash floods threatened lives, homes and firefighters.
“Where I am, the rain was actually a huge blessing,” said Jessica Thomas; half of her property in Alto burned, including her guest house and garage. “That rain came just in time to put all the hot spots on our property out, and hot spots up and down our street. ... I mean, serious prayers were answered.
“But then, conversely, we’ve got family in the valley. ... [The flooding] was devastating down there,” Thomas added.
An overflowing river came up to her in-laws’ front steps, she said: “They thought they were going to lose their house.”
Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford also said flooding was a “big concern,” even as the fires remained active. An estimated 1,400 structures were destroyed as the fires raged through Ruidoso after igniting Monday on tribal land outside the community — forcing a mass evacuation — and into Tuesday. Well over half of the structures likely are homes, Crawford said in an interview Thursday morning on 105.1 FM.
“Things are burnt to the foundations,” he said. “It’s devastating.”
But there was some good news Thursday: The stage is set for state and federal funds to flow into the Ruidoso area.
President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Lincoln County and the Mescalero Apache Tribe, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed executive orders Thursday to release $5.25 million in emergency funds to support relief efforts.
FBI aiding investigation
Rumors have been circulating on social media that authorities suspect the fires were started by an arsonist. However, Gesser said in a briefing Thursday evening the cause of the blazes is still under investigation.
The FBI is helping local, state, federal and tribal officials with the investigation, FBI spokeswoman Margo Cravens, of the agency’s Albuquerque office, confirmed in an email Thursday.
She said anyone with information about the cause of the fires should call 800-CALL-FBI or submit tips online at tips.fbi.gov.
More than 700 additional firefighters arrived Wednesday and Thursday, with a total of over 1,000 firefighters working to prevent further fire growth, Gesser said.
Using fire engines, helicopters and air tankers, firefighters planned to focus Thursday on the northern and eastern sides of the South Fork Fire, building fire lines to prevent spread “while continuing to protect homes, properties and critical infrastructure,” a news release said.
More rain expected
Rain on Wednesday necessitated multiple water rescues from flash floods, Crawford and other officials said.
The area received between 1 and 2 inches of rain Wednesday, and up to 3 inches in some areas, said Andrew Church, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.
More rain is expected Thursday night and into the weekend, according to National Weather Service forecasts, posing continued risks for flooding and mudslides.
While impending rainfall is “tough to estimate,” showers and thunderstorms are likely in Ruidoso on Thursday evening and overnight, with a quarter-inch to 1 inch of rain possible, Church said. The area was under a flood watch, as soaked soils will exacerbate future flooding, he said.
National Guard members began work to mitigate flood risks late Thursday, Gonzales said.
A rare haboob, an intense dust storm caused by thunderstorms and strong winds, also ravaged a 200-mile path across New Mexico, including Ruidoso, on Wednesday.
‘It’s not safe yet’
About 8,000 people have left the area under evacuation orders, according to a Wildfire Dashboard launched Thursday by the Governor’s Office. The dashboard was set up to track fire conditions, fire perimeter maps, evacuation zones, air quality reports and weather forecasts.
At least two people died in the fires, including a man identified as Patrick Pearson, 60. The identity of the second person remained unknown Thursday, New Mexico State Police spokesman Wilson Silver wrote in a text.
Many more remain missing, the governor said in a Wednesday night briefing, although the lack of cellphone service in the area made it difficult for family and friends to connect.
In Ruidoso Facebook groups, people continued searching for news of friends, relatives and pets Thursday.
Crawford, in the radio interview, said emergency managers had safely rounded up “a few people” who chose not to leave the area. Firefighters and village leaders are “still actively looking for people in the community,” Crawford said.
Mattie Browne, an Alamogordo resident, said several of her family members in Ruidoso quickly followed evacuation orders, but her grandfather remained behind, “trying to hold out with his neighbors” as fires burned across the street.
With no cell service, Browne has not been able to talk to her grandfather directly but has heard periodically from others with service in the area.
“I am worried about him. I wish he would have just evacuated, but I understand,” Browne said. “He’s lived there his whole life.”
David Shell, a spokesman for Southwest Area Team 5, noted “a lot of people would like to go back to their homes, but it’s not safe yet.”
It will be “several days” before fire managers deem the area safe, he said.
“What needs to happen for [people] to be permitted to go back to their homes is we need to get the fire under control, and then we need to send assessment teams through neighborhoods looking at structures, seeing if there are downed power lines and all that,” Shell said. “There are people anxious to go back now, but they’re going to run into a roadblock.”
Emergency relief coming
The governor’s executive orders task the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management with coordinating all requests for assistance and deploying National Guard troops to support local authorities as needed.
“In the face of such a disaster, it is imperative that we act swiftly,” Lujan Grisham wrote in a statement. “Although there is still a long road to full recovery ahead, these emergency funds will help stabilize these communities and provide much-needed assistance to those in need.”
The president’s disaster declaration will open access to public and individual assistance funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which can fund local community emergency response efforts, the restoration and reconstruction of public lands and infrastructure, and families’ recovery from losses due to fire.
FEMA is still considering a major disaster declaration for Otero County, a news release from New Mexico’s congressional delegation said.
“We will continue to work with FEMA and the State to make sure that Otero County and all New Mexicans impacted by this disaster receive the federal support they need,” the statement said.
