Evacuation orders coming in late Friday covered about 60 percent of the estimated 4,500 people who were originally ordered to leave their homes after the fire broke out on Tuesday, but specific numbers were not immediately available, a Village spokesman told the Associated Press. of Ruidoso, Kerry Gladden on Saturday. Evacuation estimates had previously been put at around 5,000 people. “The big story is that we are in a state of repopulation,” Gladden said earlier in the day. These evacuation orders, which remain in force, may be lifted in the coming days, officials said. Fire Commander Dave Bales said crews worked to extinguish the hotspots and clear lines along the perimeter of the fire to prevent the fire from spreading. The fire has not been contained, but Bales expressed a mixture of satisfaction with the work done so far and the prospects for the coming days. Weather conditions on Saturday appeared favorable with reduced wind and increased humidity, Bales said. “We have lines inside. We just want to make sure they hold that wind,” he said. The fire and the winds that spread it tore down power cables and cut off power to 18,000 customers. Electricity has been restored to all but a few dozen customers, said Wilson Guinn, director of Public Service Co. However, people returning home had to be careful and call public utilities if they encountered damaged lines, Guinn said. “We may have missed something,” Guinn said. “Do not try to touch them, fix them, wrap them, anything.” Gladen, the village spokesman, said residents should also be aware that strong winds earlier in the week may have destroyed trees that could fall or lose limbs. “It’s important that what started this whole event was a major storm,” he said. Telephone lines ignited Friday afternoon as residents reported more smoke, which according to fire information officer Mike De Fries was caused by outbreaks inside the fire as the flames found containers of unburned fuel. Authorities have not yet released the names of the couple who died. Their bodies were found after anxious family members contacted police, saying the couple had planned to evacuate on Tuesday when the fire broke out, but were ignored later that day. As of Saturday, the fire had burned 9.6 square miles (25 square kilometers) of timber and brush. Warmer and drier weather combined with decades of firefighting have helped increase the number of acres burned by the fires, say firefighters. The problem is exacerbated by a 20-year-long drought in the West that studies have linked to man-made climate change. Ruidoso was the site of the most devastating fire in New Mexico’s recorded history a decade ago, when more than 240 homes burned and nearly 70 square miles (181 square kilometers) of forest were blackened by lightning. While many older residents call Ruidoso their home all year round, the population of about 8,000 increases to about 25,000 during the summer months as Texans and New Mexicans seek refuge in warmer climates. Fans also flock to the Ruidoso Downs, home to one of the sport’s richest fourth horse races. The racing season was expected to start on May 27 and the horses boarding there are not in any danger as firefighters use the facility as a stadium.
This story has been edited to write a fire intelligence officer’s last name as De Fries, not DeFries.
