Resources, support from Ruidoso’s neighboring communities continue to come in
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Neighboring communities of Ruidoso, New Mexico continue to assemble resources and support for residents impacted by the wildfires and first responders on the front lines that are battling the flames.
“We received reports from the incident command that the first responders that were actually in the fight, in the firefight, or in the middle of the situation were in need of water, refreshments, goods like that to just help them move through,” said City of Socorro Chief of Police Robert Rojas.
The Socorro Police Department partnered with parts of the private sector in El Paso and took a two-day back and forth trip to Ruidoso to drop off donations to first responders and shelters for displaced Ruidoso residents.
“When things go sideways or things go bad, the first people on the scene are the people who make the decisions in the scariest moments of your life. And the fire that they’re fighting up there is deadly,” said El Paso lawyer Justin Underwood, who’s office collaborated with Socorro PD on providing support to first responders.
The Village of Ruidoso has said shelters have been overwhelmed with donations, and ask that people consider making a monetary donation instead.
Underwood said first responders are still in need of “AA” batteries, sunscreen, chapstick, hydration packets and non-perishable snacks.
Operation Hope, the non-profit organization out of El Paso, partnered with El Paso Hotel and Lodging, and other community partners to make room space at six different El Paso hotels for families in Ruidoso affected by the fires.
“I was laying there and then I saw a report of two elderly people sitting on cots, and that’s where they slept. It was sad and I said, if I have a nice, comfortable bed, I wonder how they feel sleeping in a cot, it’s not comfortable,” said Gomez of Operation Hope.
Gomez said they had been thinking of a different way to support the Ruidoso community, because of the outpour of donations from people has been great.
For the people in Ruidoso in need, they just have to call Operation Hope at (915) 590-0490 with their information and New Mexico ID, so that they can help them find a room to stay.
Resources are effectively making their way to Ruidoso, but since the early days of the fires, communication has been an issue with phone lines and internet shutting down.
With the help of emergency teams from mobile utilities, residents have been able to access their phones and internet. And thanks to social media forums, people have been able to exchange critical information to each other faster.
“It’s constantly changing, what is needed for the evacuees, for the firefighters, for all these people. So one thing that’s very nice about it is as new things are needed, we can post in there and they just start showing up,” said Trisha Roberts, an Alamogordo resident that created the Facebook page “Ruidoso Fire Support.”
“We would post what was needed and it just started showing up from El Paso, from everywhere. It was amazing,” Roberts said.
The page rapidly grew and now has over 22,000 members. The page has served as a hub for people affected by the fires to check in on friends and loved ones, and even the status of their homes.
People who have been offering support and resources have also been able to use the page to pinpoint where and what kind of help was needed.
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