RUIDOSO, N.M. (KRQE) – The village of Ruidoso is entering recovery mode as residents return to survey the damage and businesses try to get back up and running. The mayor gave an update on how the village is moving forward.
Wildfire Resources
“This is the first time I’ve ever had to evacuate in my life. It was very surreal for us,” said Ronnie Starr, owner of the Cedar Creek Market
Starr was one of the lucky ones, his business in Cedar Creek was still standing when he came back. “We didn’t know the circumstances when we did come back. We have found out that there is just major, major destruction. And we feel blessed that we were not affected,” said Starr.
But some weren’t as lucky, with at least two fatalities and hundreds of homes lost. One positive development, the mayor says is the list of missing people has significantly decreased from more than 80 to just eight. “We’ve narrowed down you know, we’ve been working off a list of missing people calling in, hadn’t been able to locate,” said Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford.
There are still areas that some residents can’t return to until investigators give the all-clear. But the village is kicking things into gear to get back to normal, working to get businesses back open and restore power across town.
“Those guys are remarkable. They’ve seen in so many crews that we’ve had to look for fill up our hotels they brought in power poles by the semi truckload,” said Mayor Crawford.
The village is already planning the rebuilding phase. “It’s just about who’s going to pay that bill and how do you pay it? And so those are the negotiations things we’re doing and I’m happy to say, I got the people at the table that are helping make that happen,” said Crawford.
The South Fork Fire sits at around 17,500 acres burned, and the Salt Fire at just under 8,000. They are 64% and 55% contained respectively.
