Wildfires Threaten to Engulf Ruidoso, New Mexico

RUIDOSO, NM — A wall of flames threatens Ruidoso, New Mexico, prompting the evacuation of the popular vacation spot for many from San Angelo.

The City of Ruidoso issued an evacuation order at around 8 p.m. on Monday, June 17, 2024, with only one road open for escape towards Roswell.

“Both Highway 48 and Highway 70 at Apache Summit are closed, so the only route for evacuation is via Sudderth to Highway 70 and out to Roswell,” stated the Village of Ruidoso’s evacuation order.

The fire threatening the village is called the South Fork Fire, which, according to CBS7, encompasses about 4,500 acres and is zero percent contained. The most recent incident map shows the entire village covered. Ruidoso Downs, located further east, so far appears untouched.

At the direction of firefighters, the local power company is turning off portions of the power grid closest to the fire. The Ruidoso Midtown Web Cam was active as of midnight, displaying current conditions in the popular tourist destination’s shopping area. See Ruidoso Midtown Web Cam.

The South Fork Fire, moving towards Ruidoso from the west, is being driven by winds blowing from 240 degrees at 10-14 knots. Surface winds reduce to variable at 6 knots overnight but are forecasted to pick up again by 11 a.m. on Tuesday morning to 230 degrees at 15-25 knots.

In addition to the South Fork Fire, two other fires are also threatening the area. The second fire, called the Salt Fire, is raging south of Ruidoso and has cut off evacuation routes to the south of the village, which has a population of 8,000 people. To the southwest is the smaller Carrizo Fire.