Federal disaster aid requested for NM fires, hundreds more firefighters en route

The South Fork Fire continues to burn in Ruidoso, N.M., on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. (Photo by Chancey Bush / Albuquerque Journal) PHOTO CANNOT BE REPUBLISHED

ROSWELL – Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) expects President Joe Biden to sign a federal emergency declaration to pave the way for funds and additional aid to address the damage in the Ruidoso area from the South Fork and Salt fires this week.

“It is my understanding that he very much intends to sign that declaration within the next 12 to 24 hours,” Stansbury said Wednesday night.

Stansbury joined Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, alongside local and state officials in a press conference in a racquetball court inside of the New Mexico Military Institute.

Lujan Grisham also announced that 200 to 300 more firefighting personnel will combat the fire in the coming days.

“Given that we are all challenged by resources and fire season around the country, the clarity here about the risks to people living in high-living area concentrations, like Ruidoso, is sufficient to make sure we have the right firefighting personnel,” she said.

Wednesday, flood waters surged in the burn scar after heavy rainfall following two days of fires, which have killed two people and destroyed an estimated 500 houses.

The Major Disaster Declaration

Wednesday morning, Lujan Grisham requested support from the president and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). New Mexico asked the federal government for assistance with housing, transitional shelter, crisis counseling and case management for people directly impacted by the disaster. The letter also seeks more federal money for the state, local and tribal government’s efforts since the fires started on Monday.

The letter cites damage to 1,400 structures and the evacuation of over 8,000 residents as well as damage or total destruction to water, septic, communications and transportation infrastructure within 24 hours of the fires’ ignition.

“These fires are highly volatile and dangerous, largely due to the changing wind patterns which are limiting the ability of firefighting crews to effectively contain the blaze,” New Mexico’s request states. “The water treatment facility in Alto Springs has been partially destroyed. Communication systems are currently down across the affected area, which spans over 20,000 acres.”

The New Mexico Department of Health and the New Mexico Environment Department’s Drinking Water Bureau issued a precautionary drinking water advisory Tuesday for nine of Lincoln County’s public water systems. Drinking water sources can be vulnerable to contamination during flooding in burn scar areas. The state agencies encouraged residents to seek alternative drinking water sources.

Four public safety communication towers and power lines were destroyed, requiring first responders to use emergency generators, the letter notes.

In addition to FEMA assistance, Stansbury approached Congress for supplemental funding, saying she would model a request after the destructive fires in Maui, Hawai’i.

Due to the number of buildings lost, the costs for damages are likely going to be very high, but there is no estimate at this time.

The New Mexico Congressional Delegation sent a letter of support to the president, urging Biden to grant Lujan Grisham’s request for federal assistance.

“Due to the life-and-death nature of this crisis, we urge you to act without delay and approve the State of New Mexico’s request for a major disaster declaration. It is imperative that the federal government provides full support to New Mexican communities to respond and recover from the devastation caused by these fires,” the delegation wrote.

‘We’re not out of the woods, yet’

“Hopefully with the incoming moisture we’re seeing, fire conditions will improve in the coming days,” Stansbury said. “But, we’re not out of the woods, yet.”

Stansbury and Lujan Grisham urged people to safely leave areas that are under mandatory evacuation.

“If folks have not left an evacuation area yet, they need to leave,” Stansbury said.

Weather patterns could complicate matters, as rain could poses serious flash flooding risks in and around the Ruidoso area, according to the National Weather Service out of Albuquerque.

Lujan Grisham said she did not have a solid figure for how many people stayed behind, despite evacuation orders.

“I know there are some people who stay behind, but just don’t have a number,” she said.

Today, search teams will be deployed to look for missing family members and friends.

Tim Jennings, mayor of Roswell, said addressing the crisis from the fire is going to stretch for weeks, possibly months.

“Please, have everybody understand, this is not gonna be over tomorrow,” he said. “People can’t go back until their communities are safe to go back to.”

Cell towers and 911 calls

Spotty communications have affected both emergency personnel coordinating fire response across agencies, as well as residents trying to locate their loved ones. Many people have told reporters that they have been unable to reach family members and friends who stayed behind during the evacuation.

Early Tuesday, 911 calls from Ruidoso were routed out to Otero County and answered by the Tularosa Basin Regional Dispatch Authority. That is expected to last several days or until phone service is restored, said the dispatch center’s deputy director Hilton Chapman.

Lujan Grisham’s request for federal aid states that local 911 dispatch operations in Ruidoso are “non-operational” and are expected to continue being so for another month.

For now, phone calls made to 911 from Ruidoso are automatically routed to Otero County using a service called Lumen, and dispatchers from Otero call the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office to perform any welfare checks.

“They have no phone reception up there, so more than likely, they’re using the radio,” Chapman said.

Lujan Grisham said Wednesday, that several cellular temporary 5G towers will be in operation as a short-term solution for the loss of cell service. Going forward she said that cellular providers will need to assess the infrastructure to determine why reception was lost and fix the problem.

At this point, it’s unclear why cell service was lost.

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