Village of Ruidoso evacuated after huge wildfire

RUIDOSO, N.M. — UPDATE:

The Village of Ruidoso provided this update at approximately 12:00 p.m., Tuesday afternoon.  

“SALT FIRE Update: The Salt Fire’s progression slowed somewhat during the night. The fire is creeping through difficult, mountainous terrain south of Ruidoso. Aircraft will be able to identify the spots closest to Ruidoso Downs and will seek to perform air attack today. 

Size: 4,876 acres estimated

Containment: 0%

Weather: 75 degrees, 15% humidity. Winds from the north at 9 mph. Todays high will be near 87 and southwest winds 5-15 mph.”

Evacuations: Evacuation orders will remain in effect for: Chatto Bluff, Apache Summit, Fantasy Lane, homes along Highway 70 from Highway 244 to the east Reservation line, Bear Canyon, and Snow Canyon.” 

“SOUTH FORK FIRE Update: This morning, the South Fork Fire is 13,921 acres and zero percent contained. An estimated 500 structures have been impacted by this fire. Crews worked together last night to stop the fire’s spread and providing structure protection where they could. Currently fire behavior is creeping, but a concern today is increased winds that could push the fire further to the east and the northeast.  

Air resources will be active today for as long as it is safe to operate, working in tandem with ground resources from multiple agencies, including tribal, federal, state and local cooperators.  This is a full suppression fire, and all available resources are responding to help secure line and perform point protection for homes in and around Ruidoso. Fire response will be broken up into three divisions that will work the fire’s south, east and northeast areas along the fire perimeter. Firefighter safety is a top priority. 

Due to lack of cell service in the area, crews will work to set up communication lines. Southwest Area Incident Management Team 5 – a Complex Incident Management Team – will arrive today for in briefing, and will assume command of the fire at 0600, tomorrow, June 19. “

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“This is a reminder that the Village of Ruidoso and a good portion of Lincoln County are in the midst of an active wildfire event with the Village of Ruidoso, Ruidoso Downs, and Lincoln County in full evacuation mode. 

Please stay out of the area, and do not attempt to get back into the Village. There are no open roads into Ruidoso, and the New Mexico State Police will have roadblocks at all entry points and they will not allow you to pass.

Thank you for your cooperation as we work through this to get through this.”

The South Fork Fire on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation, spanning Otero and Lincoln Counties remains active and moving fast. It’s moving east of HWY 48 south of Alto Cafe to Cree Meadows Drive.

Here’s a map of the wildfire in real time.

Incident Map URL: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=e2c6d99f914c44cbb18b75e73beef035

“An emergency mandatory GO evacuation has been issued for the entire Village of Ruidoso because of the South Fork Fire from Sudderth/Mechem to Freedom Bloom at Big O Tire. Please do not try to gather belongings or protect your home – GO NOW. 

Both Highway 48 and Highway 70 at Apache Summit are closed so the only route for evacuation is on Sudderth to Highway 70 and out to Roswell. 

We will keep you updated here. Please be safe and courteous as we do this.”

-Village of Ruidoso Facebook

According to the Village of Ruidoso, Hot South Fork Fire ash is falling in parts of Alto and along Airport Road.

An Evacuation Center at Inn of the Mountain Gods Convention Center located at 287 Carrizo Canyon Rd, is available for anyone, tribal or non-tribal. 

For information or assistance regarding the fire, call 575-258-6900.

Incident Map URL: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?webmap=e2c6d99f914c44cbb18b75e73beef035

Ruidoso Webcam: https://www.discoverruidoso.com/ruidoso-webcam

NewsWest 9 will continue to update this as we learn more.