The South Fork Fire covered thousands of acres and forced an immediate evacuation of the 7,700 residents of the alpine resort town in southern New Mexico.
Video filmed June 17 shows large smoke and flames in Ruidoso, N.M. Authorities ordered an immediate evacuation for the entire village. . The fire, which was first spotted at 9 a.m. local time, was threatening multiple structures, according to the New Mexico Forestry Division. The nearby Salt Fire had reached at least 3,100 acres.
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.Urgent mandatory evacuation in Ruidoso, New Mexico! It appears multiple wildfires, most notably the South Fork Fire, have merged and are closing in on the town.State officials could not immediately identify the cause of the fire.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham 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,. 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.
Last month, the Blue 2 Fire ignited north of Ruidoso, burning more than 7,500 acres and causing $25 million in damage,
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