Two wildfires, the South Fork Fire and Salt Fire, are tearing across a southern New Mexico tribal reservation and converging on the village of Ruidoso. The fires started on Monday and have since grown rapidly due to very dry air and high temperatures, prompting mandatory evacuations for thousands of residents.
The South Fork Fire was first reported around 9 a.m. on June 18, 2024, on tribal and government lands surrounding Ruidoso. By evening, it had grown to at least 8.2 sq miles (21.2 sq km) with no containment.
The Salt Fire was also reported on the Mescalero Apache Reservation and had grown to over 4.3 sq miles (11.0 sq km) by Tuesday morning with no containment.
Residents of Ruidoso, a village home to 7,000 people, were ordered to evacuate their homes without taking belongings due to the fast-moving wildfires. Multiple structures have been lost in both fires.
The South Fork Fire started on the Mescalero Apache Reservation and was burning on tribal and US Forest Service land within areas surrounding Ruidoso. The Salt Fire was also burning on the Mescalero reservation and south-west of Ruidoso.
Evacuation orders were also in place for parts of the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation including areas of Snow Springs, Fence Canyon, Whitetail, Chihuahua Well, Fantasy Lane, Summit area and Botella Road.
First responders are grappling with phone outages affecting a communications center potentially hindering the ability to respond to 911 calls. Power has been shut off in portions of Ruidoso at the request of first responders impacting nearly 800 homes and businesses.
The only route for evacuation is on Sudderth to Highway 70 and out to Roswell. Evacuation centers have been set up in nearby Roswell, including Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell gym, Lea County Fairgrounds, Capitan High School, Carrizozo High School, Church on the Move and Church on the Move Dream Center.
The wildfires' explosive growth is being fed by very dry air and high temperatures prompting an elevated fire risk warning across most of New Mexico.