McBride Fire near Ruidoso has burned 150 structures; evacuations underway in Lincoln County

Nicole Maxwell, Ruidoso News
·4 min read

Three wildfires started in Lincoln County, two of which have triggered evacuations in Ruidoso and Nogal Canyon.

9 p.m.

Lincoln County Commission declares emergency in Lincoln County due to the wildfires during an emergency meeting at 8:30 p.m. April 12.

The McBride Fire is at 3,000 acres according to InciWeb.

It was confirmed at the emergency meeting that there was no fire in Hondo. Smoke from the McBride Fire was mistaken for a new fire start.

Ruidoso fire map: Track fire, smoke from McBride Fire and Nogal Canyon Fire

There are immediate evacuations in place for Ruidoso north of Ruidoso High School. This includes Gavilan Canyon Road, Homestead Loop, Eagle Creek, Blue Lake Drive, Mira Monte Road, east of Fort Stanton Road.People needing to evacuate can go to the Ruidoso Convention Center where the Red Cross has been set up. Should more space be needed, a contingency plan has been set up.

7:30 p.m.

The size of the McBride Fire has been adjusted down from 15,000 acres to 3,000 acres, per the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, as of 7:10 p.m.

The Village of Ruidoso provided other McBride Fire updates on its Facebook page as of 7 p.m., including:

  • 150 homes and structures have been lost.

  • The fire is 0% contained.

  • Mandatory evacuations are in order for Moon Mountain, Gavilan Canyon, Hull Road and Paradise Canyon. Residents of those areas are asked to evacuate to the Ruidoso Convention Center.

  • Mandatory evacuations are also in place for Eagle Creek, Homestead Acres, Rancho Ruidoso Valley Estates, Old Fort Stanton Road, and Airport Road.

  • The Red Cross is on site to assist those who have evacuated to the Ruidoso Convention Center.

  • The Lincoln County Fairgrounds are full but the Roswell Animal Shelter and Otero Fairgrounds are open for those who need to evacuate with livestock.

  • Crews were able to knock back the fire near the Ruidoso Middle School and evacuate 1,700-plus students in 1.5 hours from Ruidoso High School, Ruidoso Middle School and Elementary Schools to the Ruidoso Convention Center. Ruidoso Municipal Schools have cancelled school for Wednesday, April 13.

  • The area is still affected by power outages.

  • The village has declared a state of emergency.

  • Those looking to make donations or volunteer, should call 575-258-6900.

5:38 p.m.

McBride Fire has grown to 15,000 acres as of 5 p.m. according to InciWeb.

The McBride Fire started at around 2:30 p.m. on April 12. It is actively running north of Ruidoso High School.

About 50 structures have already been lost in the fire.

Everyone in Ruidoso north of Ruidoso Fire is under immediate evacuation notice with residents asked to leave immediately.

The fire is headed north through Homestead Loop, Eagle Creek headed towards the airport and Alto. The fire started near Gavilan Canyon Road in Ruidoso, according to InciWeb.

The Village of Ruidoso is asking evacuees to go to the Ruidoso Convention Center.

"It is 1,000 acres and is pretty much in the middle of Ruidoso," Lincoln National Forest spokeswoman Laura Rabon said at 4:30 p.m.

Evacuations were ordered for everyone living north of Ruidoso High School.

"They need to get in their cars and leave," Rabon said. "Do not pack anything. You need to leave."

An Alto resident captures an image of wildfires burning in the Lincoln National Forest started April 12, 2022.
An Alto resident captures an image of wildfires burning in the Lincoln National Forest started April 12, 2022.

The McBride Fire is headed north through the Homestead Loop area, through the Eagle Creek area toward Alto and the Sierra Blanca Regional Airport, Rabon said.

The first wildfire to start was the Nogal Canyon Fire, east of Pennsylvania Canyon and east of the Crest Trail. The fire is on both sides of the canyon. It is 100 acres in size and was not contained as of 4 p.m. April 12.

Internet and power are out on Ruidoso.

One structure was lost in the Nogal Canyon Fire.

Nogal Canyon is also under evacuation.

A third fire is burning near Hondo.

No more information is available at this time.

This is a developing story and it will be updated as more information becomes available.

An Alto resident captures an image of wildfires burning in the Lincoln National Forest started April 12, 2022.
An Alto resident captures an image of wildfires burning in the Lincoln National Forest started April 12, 2022.

Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter. If you have questions about your subscription, please contact Customer Service at AlamogordoDailyNews@Gannett.com or call 1-877-301-0013.

This article originally appeared on Ruidoso News: Wildfire evacuation orders: Ruidoso, Nogal Canyon, Lincoln County