EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – From the moment smoke was visible on the horizon, two local Ruidoso residents stepped up to inform the community in ways that local news could not – due to their remote area in the New Mexico mountains.
Logan Fle and Jesus Figeroa began broadcasting videos and updates, informing residents whether their homes were still standing and warning people in the path of flash floods.
Fle, a local tattoo artist, was thrust into the position of a modern-day town crier. When internet and cell service went down, Fle utilized Starlink to get updates out for residents who were forced to evacuate. He calls his approach a “positive platform,” using his Instagram and Facebook accounts to post content to an audience of more than 11,600 followers.
“I had Starlink, so I was able to communicate with people in a way that they needed. It was a huge hit, and I started getting requests to check on animals and properties. Now, it’s continued into a positive platform where we’re giving back to the community,” says Fle.
Since the residents have returned, he’s continued his efforts to fundraise more than $200,000 from fundraisers in Ruidoso and a connection of tattoo artists from Texas, New Mexico, and abroad.
Using humor in the form of a mannequin named Ken and silly characters, Fle jokes that he is “teasing the tension” during a dark time for first responders and residents who have lost everything they own.
“The third day it turned into.. Now, we’re feeding all the first responders. Cold water, nice drinks, and lunches. We’d get ‘em to them because i knew where they were at and those guys were kinda left in the dust,” said Fle. “They’d wait for them to come back to their base camps, but never had the chance for someone to just come up and give ‘em some humor and have a mannequin in the back and a high five and a good laugh and life became a little bit not so stressful when I would show up. By the end of the first week, they were like ‘it’s Ken!’ and were super excited about that.”
Local chainsaw artist and arborist Jesus Figeroa also stepped in to provide a unique perspective of the fire and flood damage. His use of a drone while he operated high above the ground from the tall pines helped give a bird’s eye view of the damages.
“Since the trees are pretty high, people don’t know what’s happening. Once they see a video of where the fire is, they’ll get an idea of which direction to go,” Figeroa said.
Figeroa became the eyes on the ground and the sky during the catastrophic flooding that occurred in the village after the fires. News outlets in Albuquerque and El Paso used his videos in their nightly newscasts to inform the people of New Mexico and West Texas of the ongoing threats in the area.
“When there’s a big rainstorm coming, you better get ready. Two inches of rain on the burn area, it gathers up down the stream. It just takes everything, it doesn’t respect nothing it moves boulders. You’d be surprised at the boulders that it moves. It’s pretty powerful,” explained Figeroa.
Fle and Figeroa agree that Ruidoso is a resilient community and know the Village will return to normal soon.
