Residents of Ruidoso, New Mexico, were urgently instructed to evacuate on Monday due to a wildfire that was spotted to the west of the town and has rapidly expanded to over 1,300 acres, according to officials. The Salt Fork Fire was first noticed at around 9 a.m. Monday on the Mescalero Reservation west of the village. The fire has grown to 1,385 acres, and various evacuation orders have been issued. The fire was described as active and spreading quickly by the village’s incident information website.
Fortunately, no casualties have been reported as of Monday night. The exact number of structures destroyed remains unknown, but there are reports of multiple structures being at risk. Residents were urged not to attempt to gather belongings or defend their homes but to evacuate immediately.
Hot ash from the fire was falling in the nearby community of Alto, north of Ruidoso. A section of U.S. Highway 70 close to the reservation was shut down due to the fire. The Mescalero Apache Tribe announced on its website that conservation efforts were underway, with teams going door-to-door to evacuate individuals in affected areas. The Tribe also opened an evacuation center at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Convention Center and offered to accommodate livestock at a rodeo center.
PNM, the local electricity provider, cut off power to a portion of Ruidoso at the request of emergency responders. Ruidoso, Alto, and the reservation are located in the Sierra Blanca mountain range, approximately 130 miles southeast of Albuquerque.
The fire broke out while many parts of the American Southwest, including sections of New Mexico, were under “red flag” warnings due to the heightened risk of fires caused by extremely dry air and strong winds. In Calaveras County, California, east of Stockton, a separate wildfire that has consumed around 1,500 acres also prompted urgent evacuations on Monday. Approximately 5,000 individuals were left without power as a result of the fire. Aerial footage showed planes dropping pink fire retardant in advance of the blaze, which generated a thick wall of smoke.
The Aero Fire ignited near Aero Road and Hunt Road in Copperopolis around 3:20 p.m., as per the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). These incidents underscore the importance of remaining vigilant during wildfire season and heeding evacuation orders promptly to ensure the safety of all residents in affected areas.