Residents of a southern New Mexico town were ordered to leave their homes Monday, with no time to gather belongings due to a fast-moving wildfire.
“Leave now: Do not try to gather belongings or protect your home. Evacuate immediately,” the authorities of Ruidoso, a town of about 7,000 inhabitants, indicated on their website and on social networks around 7:00 pm.
The Public Service Company of New Mexico turned off power to part of the town because of the South Fork Fire, which spanned about 8.2 square miles and was not contained, the Division of Forestry said Monday night. The agency reported that structures were threatened and several had been lost. A section of Highway 70 south of town was closed.
“We were getting ready to sit down to eat and the alert came: Evacuate now, don’t take anything or think about packing anything, just evacuate,” Mary Lou Minic told KOB-TV. “And within three, five minutes, we were in the car, leaving.”
The South Fork Fire started Monday on the Mescalero Apache Reservation, where the tribal chairman issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency. The fire was advancing through reservation and US Forest Service lands near Ruidoso.
A second fire, called the Salt Fire, was also burning on the Mescalero reservation and southwest of Ruidoso. By Monday night it had reached 4.3 square miles and was not contained, according to the forestry division.
Ruidoso is located about 75 miles west of Roswell, where several evacuation centers have been set up. The smoke prompted an air quality alert for unhealthy levels in both Ruidoso and the surrounding area.
Fires in California
In the neighboring state of California, firefighters continue to battle this Tuesday against the largest fire that the state has suffered so far this year, while fears intensify about the conditions expected for the hot and dry months that lie ahead in the summer.
The Post Fire, north of the city of Los Angeles, quickly burned through about 37 square miles of land over the weekend, forcing the evacuation of more than a thousand people camping at a recreational park and also closing a popular lake dedicated to navigation.
Nearly 1,700 firefighters and personnel of all types are dedicated to containing this fire, which is currently burning about 24 square miles and is only 24% contained.
Since Saturday, more than 20 fires have broken out in California, burning more than 20,000 acres. At least 18 remain active Tuesday and most remain uncontained, according to Cal Fire’s website. Several of these fires have caused evacuations and damaged buildings, including the Post.
Recent wet winters have led to rapid growth of vegetation, which experts say could prove dangerous as droughts begin in the coming weeks and months.
Grasslands and trees in some parts of California are already “dry enough” to withstand elevated fire climate concerns, according to the National Weather Service. “Recent activity suggests that fuel elements dry quickly and contribute to fire spread,” the agency added.
With information from AP and AFP.
Forest fire burns 15,000 acres in California: “In seconds everything started to catch fire”
