"Probably going to be a shocker': Wildfire evacuees prepare for return home

ROSWELL — While evacuees from the South Fork and Salt fires get ready to go home Monday, incident command team members said there are concerns remaining, such as flooding from recent rains.

Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs officials announced on Saturday that full-time residents can come back to their homes and properties starting at 8 a.m. Monday.

This comes a week after the start of the South Fork and Salt fires that have burned over 25,000 acres combined as of Sunday morning, according to the Southwest Area Incident Management Team.

When asked by a Facebook user during a Sunday afternoon online meeting why he decided to reopen only a week after the fires started, Village of Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford said people were wanting to go back in.

Crawford added that while people can go back, they should "just look" — then leave to allow firefighters and other crews to do their jobs.

Evacuee Tammy Pettit said returning on Monday is "probably going to be a shocker." She and boyfriend Samuel Crooks said they have been stressing out for the past week while staying at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, wondering if their Ruidoso home is still around.

"We're just trying to keep our heads clear as we can, instead of thinking about where we're going back to," Crooks said.

"It's stressful," Pettit said, "but at some time you have to deal with it and keep praying."

Pettit and Crooks were at their Ruidoso home June 17 when they got the call to evacuate with their heeler and German shepherd mix siblings, Bullet and Roxy. Crooks said he has not slept well since.

"You got to keep praying, keep strong," Pettit said while playing with the dogs on the NMMI campus.

Another evacuee waiting to hear about her home is Patricia Robles.

Unlike some other evacuees, Robles was planning to relocate from Ruidoso and was just about packed when she had to evacuate.

She said she did not have enough gas when she hit the road. Fortunately, she said she was able to fill up in Hondo where she stayed the night. The next day, she stopped at NMMI.

Evacuee Marcia Wilheim, an 80-year-old widow, had to spend the night in her car in a gas station before finding the military institute.

"It was fine," she said. "Nothing that an 80-year-old can't handle."

She said she doesn't worry about "stuff I can't change," and appreciated what NMMI had done for her and her friends.

At Sunday's meeting, National Weather Service of El Paso meteorologist Tom Bird said there are some areas in and around Ruidoso dealing with "life-threatening" floods, and when a community is reintroduced to an area that is flood-prone, it can be "10 times worse."

Bird said to add to the flooding situation, there is a probability of above-normal precipitation through mid-July in the area. That's really good for fighting fires, but "it's not so good" when there are burn scars, he said.

While evacuees understand the uncertainty and danger that they are facing, many just want to know if they have a place to come back to.

"We're just hoping we go to a good enough place to stay in because we don't have a second resort," Crooks said.