New Mexico

Arkansas search and rescue teams assist with New Mexico floods • Arkansas Advocate

Published

2 years ago

July 22, 2024

Arkansas search and rescue teams assist with New Mexico floods • Arkansas Advocate

Nearly 30 Arkansans from various fire departments and emergency teams across the state helped with search and rescue efforts in New Mexico, where deadly wildfires exacerbated the flood risk for communities.

Danny Akines, a training and logistics officer from the Pulaski County Office of Emergency Management, was one of those deployed to monitor Las Vegas, a town of about 13,000 near Sante Fe, and Ruidoso, a small mountain village about 200 miles south of Albuquerque.

From June 29 to July 13, Akines traveled with the Arkansas team back and forth from Las Vegas to Ruidoso monitoring potential flash floods and training for swift water rescue. Their skills were put to the test during two days of major flooding in Ruidoso where they rescued 21 people and three dogs, evacuated 14 people and reported 15 more who remained in place.

“We get called to go right around the corner, out of sight of where we’re at, and there’s a newborn baby and two women trapped in a car,” Akines recalled of his first water rescue. “They’ve been kind of washed sideways…and the current is taking them off.”

Over the two most intensive days of the two-week trip, the Arkansas team spent eight hours responding to assistance calls of people trapped in their homes or cars. The water, which traveled down a nearby mountain faster than anything Akines said he’s ever seen in Arkansas, carried logs, boulders and debris from homes destroyed in the wildfires.

“It goes fast, but that’s what we went for,” Akines said. “We hate that this type of event is happening to those people, but we’re there to help. We’re glad we’re there when it happens.”

FEMA trailers on their way to Ruidoso; at least 856 homes lost

No flood-related fatalities have been reported, though two people were reported dead from the wildfires that destroyed at least 850 houses in New Mexico, according to a report from Source NM. The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently approved the state’s request for temporary housing, which should provide relief for people who are couch surfing or staying in hotels.

“We’ve got them spread out,” Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford told Source NM. “We’re trying not to lose them forever, because we need them to work and live here.”

After the Arkansas rescue team safely made contact with people in need, they transported them to higher ground or to a shelter managed by the local community. Akines said local officials and community members expressed their appreciation throughout their presence in the area.

“We’re just glad that we’re able to help people,” Akines said. “Whether it’s here, there or wherever. All the guys are very professional, no matter where we go, and they’re very dedicated.”

The New Mexico project marked Akines’ third deployment with the Pulaski County Office of Emergency Management, where he has volunteered since 2009 and worked full time for two years. His other trips included providing aid in Texas and Florida as hurricanes threatened the states.

The Arkansas agencies footed the initial bills for the emergency deployment, though the state is expected to provide a reimbursement, Akines said. New Mexico officials will then reimburse the state of Arkansas for its services.

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New Mexico

New Mexico vs. Tulsa Prediction Odds, Key Player to Watch for NIT Semifinal

Published

2 hours ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

New Mexico vs. Tulsa Prediction Odds, Key Player to Watch for NIT Semifinal

It’s not just the NCAA Tournament that’s down to the final four teams, but the NIT also has just four teams remaining in its bracket. The semifinals are set to begin on Thursday night, with the first of two games being a showdown between New Mexico from the Mountain West and Tulsa from the American.

Let’s dive into the odds and my best bet for Thursday night’s matchup, with a berth in the NIT final on the line.

New Mexico vs. Tulsa Odds, Spread, and Total

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

Spread

New Mexico -3.5 (-118)
Tulsa +3.5 (-104)

Moneyline

New Mexico -178
Tulsa +146

Total

OVER 161.5 (-110)
UNDER 161.5 (-110)

New Mexico vs. Tulsa How to Watch

Date: Thursday, April 2
Game Time: 7:00 pm ET
Venue: Hinkle Fieldhouse
How to Watch (TV): ESPN
New Mexico Record: 26-10
Tulsa Record: 29-7

New Mexico vs. Tulsa Betting Trends

Tulsa is 1-5 ATS in its last six games
The OVER is 8-3 in Tulsa’s last 11 games
Tulsa is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games as an underdog
New Mexico is 5-0-1 ATS in its last six games
The OVER is 13-7 in New Mexico’s last 20 games

New Mexico vs. Tulsa Key Player to Watch

David Green, F – Tulsa Golden Hurricanes

If Tulsa wants to pull off the upset and win this game, they need David Green to step up in a big way. He’s the team’s leading scorer, averaging 15.7 points per game, but he scored just five points in the NIT quarterfinal. Let’s see if he can bounce back with a strong performance tonight.

New Mexico vs. Tulsa Prediction and Pick

Tulsa has already beaten one Mountain West team in the NIT, taking down UNLV by a score of 77-66, and I think they can at least cover as underdogs against New Mexico.

The Golden Hurricanes are one of the best shooting teams in college basketball, ranking 25th in effective field goal percentage. Well above New Mexico, which comes in at 70th in that metric. Tulsa is also a solid team defensively, ranking 106th in defensive efficiency.

The Mountain West continues to be an overrated conference. Their regular season and tournament champion lost in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, Colorado State and Wyoming both lost in the first round of the NIT, and UNLV fell in the second round to Tulsa.

I’m going to continue to follow my strategy of fading the Mountain West in postseason tournaments.

Pick: Tulsa +3.5 (-104) via FanDuel

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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You can check out all of Iain’s bets here!

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New Mexico

Santa Fe National Forest, other Northern New Mexico land, announce fire restrictions

Published

14 hours ago

April 1, 2026

Press Room

Santa Fe National Forest, other Northern New Mexico land, announce fire restrictions

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New Mexico

New Mexico State women’s basketball’s 3 best March Madness moments

Published

1 day ago

April 1, 2026

Press Room

New Mexico State women’s basketball’s 3 best March Madness moments

New Mexico State’s women’s basketball team has entered a new era with the hiring of Adeniyi Amadou as its new coach. He’ll try to take the Aggies back to the NCAA Tournament, where they appeared multiple times in the 1980s and 2010s.

NM State has six NCAA Tournaments, four conference tournament championships (all won as part of the Western Athletic Conference) and eight regular-season conference championships to its name in women’s basketball. The Aggies have reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament once in 1988, although that was when teams could receive first-round byes if they were a high enough seed (they were a No. 6 seed then and lost to Washington in their first NCAA Tournament game).

Let’s look back on some of those seasons. Here are the three best March Madness moments in NM State’s women’s basketball history:

First conference tournament win (2015)

NM State began its WAC dynasty in 2015.

The Aggies won their first-ever conference tournament in women’s basketball in the 2015 WAC Tournament. NM State was the regular-season conference champion and earned the No. 1 seed and a bye to the semifinals of the WAC Tournament as a result. The Aggies went 2-0 to secure a conference tournament championship.

Bolstered by 22 points from Sasha Weber and 16 rebounds from Brianna Freeman, NM State pulled out a 79-75 overtime win in the semifinals over Seattle. Another 20 points from Weber helped the Aggies win the WAC Tournament championship game 70-52 over UT-Pan American (which has since merged with UT-Brownsville to form UTRGV) and reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988. Freeman was named the WAC Tournament MVP.

Three in a row (2017)

The Aggies would then make it three consecutive WAC Tournament championships two years later.

NM State entered the 2017 WAC Tournament with a perfect 14-0 conference record, and it kept that unbeaten run going. The Aggies defeated UMKC (now referred to as Kansas City) 71-63 in the semifinals thanks to four players scoring in double figures, including Moriah Mack’s 21 points in 40 minutes of action. NM State then took down Seattle 63-48 in the championship game off the back of a double-double from Tamera William at 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Mack won the WAC Tournament MVP that year. She scored 18 points against the Redhawks in the championship game. It was the third and final WAC Tournament championship for then-coach Mark Trakh before he joined USC.

Resilience in overtime (2019)

Another regular-season conference championship wasn’t enough in 2018, as the Aggies lost to Seattle in the semifinals. But NM State got back on its perch in the WAC in the following year.

Guided by second-year coach Brooke Atkinson, the Aggies needed two overtime victories to win the 2019 WAC Tournament after defeating Chicago State in the quarterfinals (the WAC Tournament went from seven to eight teams starting in 2018, with no byes to the semifinals). The first one came in a 91-80 win over UMKC after NM State allowed just five points in overtime. The Aggies were forced into double overtime during the championship game against UTRGV, which ended with a 76-73 win.

Gia Pack scored 86 points across the WAC Tournament, including 36 against UMKC, to win the tournament’s MVP. Brooke Salas scored a team-high 29 points in the championship game.

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