RUIDOSO, New Mexico (AP) – Authorities have revoked some orders to evacuate a mountain community in the drought-stricken southern part of New Mexico as firefighters worked Saturday to contain a wind-ravaged fire that killed two people and destroyed more than 200 homes. .
The evacuation orders, lifted late Friday, covered about 60 percent of the roughly 4,500 people who were originally ordered to flee their homes after Tuesday’s fire broke out, but specific figures were not immediately available, said Village of Ruidoso spokeswoman Kerry Gladden. in front of the Associated Press on Saturday. Earlier, it was reported that the evacuation was about 5,000 people.
“The big story is that we are in a resettlement regime,” Gladon said earlier during a media briefing.
Those evacuation orders, which remain in force, could be revoked in the coming days, officials said.
Those waiting to return included Barbara Arthur, owner of a 28-seat RV wooded park that was damaged by the wind but did not burn.
“We feel blessed,” said Arthur, who was staying at a motel on Saturday preparing taco ingredients to take to another RV park for dinner with people displaced by the fire, including some of its tenants.
Arthur said the fire came about half a mile (0.8 kilometers) from her park and that she saw flames as she evacuated. “It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever been through in my 71 years,” she said.
Fire Commander Dave Bales said crews worked to extinguish hotspots and clear lines around the perimeter of the fire to keep the fire from spreading. The fire is uncontrollable, but Bales expressed a mixture of satisfaction with the work done so far and prospects for the coming days.
Weather conditions on Saturday looked favorable with reduced winds and increased humidity, Bales said. “We have queues. We just want to make sure they stay afloat, “he said.
The fire and winds that spread it cut power lines and cut off electricity to 18,000 customers. Electricity has been restored for all but a few dozen customers, said Wilson Gwyn, manager of Public Service Co.
But people who return to their homes should be careful and call utility workers if they encounter damaged lines, Gwyn said.
“We may have missed something,” Gwyn said. “Don’t try to touch them, fix them, roll them up, whatever.”
Gladon, a village spokesman, said residents should also be aware that strong winds earlier in the week could have damaged trees that could still fall or lose limbs.
“The important thing is that what started this whole event was a strong windstorm,” she said.
Hotlines erupted on Friday afternoon as residents reported more smoke, which fire information officer Mike De Vries said was caused by fires inside the fire as the flames found pockets of unburned fuel.
The fire started in the neighborhood and then spread to more remote areas, De Vries said on Saturday. Authorities are investigating the cause.
“What you have here in Ruidoso are areas where homes have been destroyed, many homes destroyed in neighborhoods,” De Vries said. “And then there is clear evidence and a trace of the fire as it spread further north and west and in some cases from neighborhood to neighborhood as it burned through the north and east sides of the village of Ruidoso.”
Authorities have not yet released the names of the dead couple. Their bodies were found after worried family members contacted police, saying the couple had planned to evacuate on Tuesday when the blaze broke out, but were unaccounted for later that day.
As of Saturday, the fire had burned 9.6 square miles (25 square kilometers) of timber and shrubs.
Hotter and drier weather, combined with decades of firefighting, has helped increase the number of acres burned by forest fires, firefighters say. The problem is exacerbated by more than 20 years of western mega-drought, which studies have linked to man-made climate change.
There are other fires in the state, including the smaller fire in Nogal Canyon northwest of Ruidoso. The fire was caused by damaged power lines, De Vries said, and burned six houses and eight outbuildings. People have been ordered to leave the area.
“We are currently in a time, although it is very early in the year, where places like New Mexico have had extra stretches of just extremely dry weather,” De Vries said. “Combining this with some winds, you can see by the number of fires that happen and the number of new starts every day and every week that the conditions of the fire are a big concern.
Ruidoso was the site of the most devastating wildfire in New Mexico’s history a decade ago, when more than 240 homes burned and nearly 70 square miles (181 square kilometers) of forest were blackened by lightning flames.
While many older residents call Ruidoso home all year round, the population of about 8,000 people increases to about 25,000 during the summer months as Texans and new Mexicans from hotter climates seek relaxation.
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This story has been corrected to display the fire officer’s last name as De Fries, not DeFries.
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Associated Press journalist Julie Walker contributed to this report.
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