The town of Ruidoso in New Mexico, which was completely evacuated last week due to two swiftly spreading wildfires, permitted its residents to return on Monday to check on the condition of their homes.
According to the municipality, “potential additional fatalities identified,” New Mexico State Police have confirmed two fire-related deaths in the South Fork and Salt fires.
On Monday, during her weekly radio program, Mayor Lynn Crawford announced that 29 individuals are missing.
“Exclusion zones” are places where residences have burnt and sustained significant damage. Crawford stated that searchers were entering these regions “looking for individuals.”
Crawford, the mayor of the roughly 7,700-person hamlet stated that, “That means there is so severe damage that there are the potential to have victims in there, that we’re looking for. We’re still looking for 29 people.”
Dogs are used by search and rescue teams, and they move from “property to property,” according to him.
Read Also: Alberto Unleashes Torrential Rains on Texas and Mexico, Resulting in 3 Deaths
Crawford advised anyone living in those exclusion zones who might be one of the 29 people who are officially listed as missing but are not aware of this to call the emergency operations center “and just say you’re checking in.”
On June 17, the Mescalero Apache Reservation saw the start of the South Fork and Salt fires. The South Fork Fire spread eastward, into Ruidoso, and to the town’s north.
Nearby Ruidoso Downs, a town of about 2,600 people, was forced to evacuate as a result of the Salt Fire, which was burning east and south of Ruidoso.
According to the New Mexico Forestry Division, as of Monday, the South Fork Fire had burnt around 17,551 acres and was 37% contained. About 7,816 acres had been destroyed by the Salt Fire, which was 7% controlled.
There have been over 1,400 structural damages. According to what the governor of New Mexico, Michelle Lujan Grisham, stated last week, there are thought to have been about 500 homes damaged.
David Solas was among those getting ready to head into the Ruidoso area, but he had no idea what to expect.
The weather has changed, which has assisted firefighters in fighting the fires, even though the rains did increase the risk of floods.
As per the latest assessment from the state Forestry Division, the fire behavior “has reduced to smoldering and creeping in heavy duff and dead/down fuels”; nonetheless, they cautioned that it may intensify in certain areas with rising temperatures.
As a courtesy, Crawford, the mayor of Ruidoso, requested those who own second homes in the neighborhood to hold off and let the full-time residents in first.
“We have people, this is their primary home. That was their home. Their children, you know, this was their school,” Crawford stated. “And so let those people get in here first, because we’re going to be filling up soon.”
The cause of the fires is being looked into. A $10,000 reward has been offered by the FBI for information that results in the identification and conviction of the person or persons in charge of the fires.
Crawford stated that the goal of the officials was to make sure that correct information was distributed.
“Sometimes in a rush to get out information you can make mistakes. For example, we’re at two fatalities, not three — and we were told three,” Crawford stated. “That’s great news, and we want to keep it at two.”
