Rainfall, flooding halts crews fighting Ruidoso fires

Heavy rainfall on Wednesday complicated efforts to fight two Ruidoso-area wildfires as the threat of lightning and flash flooding prompted officials to pull back crews from the South Fork and Salt fires.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham also reported that two fire-related fatalities occurred in the first 24 hours of the fires that began Monday, forcing the mandatory evacuation of more than 8,000 residents in the tourist town nestled in the Sacramento Mountains.

Wildfires in and around Ruidoso continued to increase in size overnight into Wednesday morning, after claiming two lives and forcing the evacuation of Ruidoso Downs on Tuesday.

One of those killed was Patrick Pearson, 60, who died Monday evening while trying to walk away from a Ruidoso hotel where he lived, said his daughter, Hilary Mallak of Rio Rancho.

The deaths are part of the disaster caused by two fires that now cover a combined 23,500 acres, or just over 36.7 square miles.

The South Fork Fire has consumed 16,335 acres. Fire crews have been unable to achieve any containment, according to a statement released shortly after noon Wednesday from the Southwest Area Incident Management Team, which took over management of the South Fork and Salt fires earlier in the day.

Zero containment was also reported for the nearby Salt Fire, which had burned 7,071 acres, an increase of roughly 2,100 acres since early Tuesday, according to official estimates.

Fire-ravaged areas of Lincoln and Otero counties received an estimated 2-4 inches of rainfall Wednesday afternoon, National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Guyer said Wednesday. The agency issued a flash flood warning at 1:19 p.m. Wednesday that remained in effect into the evening.

Under particular risk are burn scars and low-lying areas along the Rio Ruidoso as far as the Chaves County line, Guyer said.

More rain and thunderstorms are predicted into Thursday and Friday, creating a mixed blessing for firefighting efforts. Firefighting crews were withdrawn from service Wednesday afternoon because of the risk of flash flooding and lightning, he said.

“The rain will help to put out the fire but it will also create flash flooding,” Geyer said. “This is all developing rapidly this afternoon.”

The flash flood warning prompted the Village of Ruidoso to announce that the Ruidoso Office of Emergency Management was pulling all operations out of the following areas: Upper Canyon, Eagle Drive, Sleepy Hollow, Country Club, Lower Gavilan, Lower Paradise Canyon, Two Rivers and Carrizozo Canyon.

“As the units and crews leave these areas, they will be evacuating anyone that is still in the area to higher ground,” the notice stated.

A spokeswoman for the Village told the Journal on Wednesday evening that the temporary halt to firefighting operations came as the area received 3 inches of rain in one hour.

“We’ve had to do water rescues, and as you can imagine, the resources are maxed out,” said spokeswoman Kerry Gladden.

“Move to higher ground now!” the National Weather Service said on its website. “This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order.”

The state, meanwhile, has set up 15 shelter sites, and plans to feed more than 1,000 individuals. State Livestock Bureau staff have been deployed to the Ruidoso Downs Racetrack to assist in the evacuation of about 1,500 racehorses. About 1,000 have been moved to safety so far.

In a letter seeking federal disaster relief and emergency assistance, the governor reported the fires developed in a parallel pattern, enclosing multiple populated areas, and damages to more than 1,400 structures as of Wednesday morning and zero containment.

The water treatment facility in Alto Springs has been partially destroyed, and communication systems have been down across the affected area, which spans more than 20,000 acres.

“All 911 communication services are non-operational and are expected to remain so for months,” her letter to President Biden stated. Law enforcement, fire and EMS communications have been “severely impacted” because four public communications towers have been damaged or destroyed, and power lines to critical infrastructure for public safety also have been “completely destroyed necessitating the use of emergency generators for these services.”

“The state of New Mexico has exhausted all available funding and personnel in its attempts to mitigate this emergency,” she wrote. Public entities in the state are still trying to manage the impacts of previous wildfires and other disasters, she wrote.

Meanwhile, a frontal weather system is expected to push into the region on Thursday and while increasing moisture levels, the system is expected to shift winds to the southeast instead of the southwest.

“This will likely change fire behavior, allowing fires to grow in a different direction and impacting other areas,” the governor’s letter stated.

The South Fork Fire was discovered at 9 a.m., Monday and is burning on Mescalero Apache and U.S. Forest Service lands and within areas surrounding Ruidoso.

A Village of Ruidoso Facebook post states that the Salt Fire is “making a run” toward Ruidoso Downs, which was evacuated on Tuesday. The Salt Fire is on Mescalero land, southwest of Ruidoso and parts of Otero County.

An estimated 800 first responders and 13 hotshot crews have been fighting the fires.