Ruidoso wildfires to be turned over to local agencies this Sunday
UPDATE: The Southwest Area Incident Management Team 5 will be turning over the wildfires to local agencies, BIA, Mescalero Apache Tribe, Lincoln National Forest and New Mexico State Forestry Division at 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 7, the Forestry Division said on Thursday morning, July 4.
“Capable resources are in place to continue to support the ongoing efforts to reach 100% containment,” the Forestry Division said.
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — With the Fourth of July holiday coming up, the New Mexico Forestry Division is asking the community to refrain from using fireworks as they can cause new fires.
The Forestry Division says fireworks are always prohibited at the Lincoln National Forest and fireworks are only allowed as part of an organized event on the Mescalero Apache Tribal lands.
The Mescalero Apache Tribe says the only event that was scheduled for the holiday has been canceled and also issued an updated Class V/Stage II – Extreme Fire Restriction Notice on Monday, July 1.
The Lincoln National Forest reduced the fire danger rating to ‘moderate’ and all fire restrictions were lifted on Wednesday, July 3. The Village of Ruidoso says it’s also under Level 1 Fire Restrictions.
The South Fork Fire and the Salt Fire have reached a total of 25,000 acres. The South Fork Fire reached 87 percent containment and the Salt Fire reached 84 percent containment as of Wednesday morning, July 3.
“Suppression repair crews will work across the South Fork and Salt fire area today. If conditions permit, crews will focus on repair of bulldozer roads and hand lines as well as chipping operations,” the Forestry Division said on Wednesday.
The Forestry Division says crews supported flood mitigation this week, filling a total of 46,000 sandbags for the community.
Residents in the Upper Canyon area and near the Rio Ruidoso were forced to evacuate this past weekend due to major flooding, according to the Village of Ruidoso’s Facebook page.
A village spokesperson said 26 swift water rescues were conducted on Saturday, June 29, and 51 water rescues were conducted on Sunday, June 30. However, there were no fatalities.
The El Paso Fire Water Rescue Team was also deployed to Ruidoso on Sunday to assist with the flooding.
For more information on road closures or community resources, click here: Daily update | Village of Ruidoso.
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