RUIDOSO, N.M. (KRQE) – PNM said it is working to restore power to thousands of customer in the Ruidoso area. The electric utility said the fires destroyed or damaged around 1,500 power poles knocking out service 4,100 customers.
Wildfire Resources
As of Monday afternoon, around 2,100 people still have no power, and crews are working alongside neighboring utilities to reconnect portions of the grid. “It’s tough, right? There are a lot of areas that have had significant amount of damage, and that includes our system. So just being able to navigate that assess that and figure out how they’re going to work in that process of getting stuff repaired overall is the biggest issue,” said PNM Spokesperson Eric Chavez.
PNM said the work will take time to complete. Each pole is between 30-45 feet tall and weighs up to 1,000 pounds so PNM said it takes a crew of several people with heavy machinery to replace them.
