Crews fight New Mexico wildfires

Evacuations beginning to lift in certain areas

RUIDOSO, N.M. — Authorities have lifted some evacuation orders for a mountain community in drought-stricken southern New Mexico as firefighters worked Saturday to contain a wind-driven blaze that killed two people and destroyed over 200 homes.

The evacuation orders lifted late Friday covered about 60 percent of the estimated 4,500 people ordered to leave their homes since the fire started Tuesday, Village of Ruidoso spokesperson Kerry Gladden told The Associated Press on Saturday. Evacuation estimates were previously reported to be around 5,000 people.

“The big story is we’re in a re-population mode,” Gladden said earlier during a media briefing.

Those evacuation orders remaining in effect may be lifted in coming days, officials said.

Those waiting to return included Barbara Arthur, the owner of a wooded 28-site RV park that had wind damage but didn’t burn.

Arthur said the fire came within a half-mile of her park and that she saw flames while evacuating. “It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever been through in my 71 years of living,” she said.

Fire incident commander Dave Bales said crews worked to put out hot spots and clear lines along the fire’s perimeter to keep the fire from spreading. The fire has no containment but Bales expressed a mix of satisfaction with work done so far and prospects for coming days.

Weather conditions Saturday appeared favorable with reduced wind and increased humidity, Bales said. “We have lines in. We just want to make sure they hold in that wind,” he said.

Hotlines lit up Friday afternoon as residents reported more smoke, which fire information officer Mike De Fries said was caused by flareups within the interior of the fire as flames found pockets of unburned fuel.

The fire started in the neighborhood and then spread to more remote areas, De Fries said Saturday. Authorities are investigating the cause.

Authorities have yet to release the names of the couple who died. Their bodies were found after worried family members contacted police, saying the couple had planned to evacuate Tuesday when the fire exploded but were unaccounted for later that day.

As of Saturday, the fire had burned 9.6 square miles of timber and brush.

Justin Garcia The Associated Press A house smolders following the McBride Fire on Thursday in Ruidoso, New Mexico. Firefighters have kept the blaze from pushing further into the mountain community.