RUIDOSO, N.M. (KRQE) – Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham presented the state Medal of Valor to three New Mexico National Guardsmen for saving people during the storms. Staff Sgt. David Perez, Sgt. Carlos Mendoza and Specialist Roberto Veledias were clearing debris and moving heavy equipment with three other guardsmen on June 29 when floodwaters threatened four people.

Albuquerque Fire Rescue shares video of last week’s flooding in Ruidoso

Perez and Veledias rescued the four people while Mendoza got another guardsman out of danger.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 – Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos.

Friday, July 26, 2024

Location: Northwest corner of the Santa Fe National Forest in the Cuba Ranger District, approximately 27 miles north of Cuba, NM.

Start Date: July 18, 2024

Size: 2,745 acres with a planned perimeter of 7,000 acres

Percent completed: 35 %

Cause: Lightning

Vegetation: The wildfire is burning in ponderosa pine, pinyon-juniper, and oak.

Resources: 36 personnel including aerial resources

Overview: Santa Fe National Forest will manage the fire as a Type 3 incident with a confine and contain strategy.  This means crews will manage the fire within a predetermined area (confine) and use points to stop the fire’s spread (contain). To accomplish this strategy, crews will conduct firing operations using aerial and hand ignitions within a 7000-acre planned perimeter as early as July 25 and use roads, hand lines, and natural barriers as containment lines.

The fire is burning in the Moya National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) project area and a landscape that has been thinned and treated with prescribed fire in the past. The primary objectives for the Tanques Wildfire are to provide for firefighter and public safety and improve wildlife habitat.

Highlights: Fire held within the fire perimeter overnight. Today, aerial ignitions, conducted by a helicopter, continue within the project area. Crews are managing fire activity and preparing for thunderstorms later this evening.

Weather: After a relatively calm night Thursday night, an uptick in afternoon thunderstorm activity in the fire area is forecast Friday through the weekend.

Closure Order: A temporary area and road closure is in effect to protect the public’s health and safety during firefighting operations for the Tanques Wildfire. The closure order is available on the Santa Fe National Forest’s website – Closure Order 03-10-02-24-11 .

Safety: The health and safety of firefighter and the public are always the highest priority. Please avoid the area while crews manage the Tanques Wildfire. Drones and firefighting aircraft are a dangerous mix and could lead to accidents or slow down wildfire operations. If you fly, we can’t.

Smoke: Smoke may be visible from communities along Highway 112 including El Vado and Llaves, NM and from the Jicarilla Apache Nation Indian Reservation. View an interactive smoke map on AirNow Fire and Smoke Map. To learn more about smoke impacts visit Wildfire and Prescribed Fire Smoke Resources (nm.gov).

Fire Information:

Contact Claudia Brookshire, Public Affairs Officer, Santa Fe National Forest

Phone: 505-607-0879 (available from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm)

Email: claudia.brookshire@usda.gov

Links: Santa Fe National Forest website, New Mexico Fire Info, Inciweb, and Santa Fe National Forest social media (Facebook and X).

Tanques Wildfire updates will be provided weekly.

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — There’s a local man who’s been skyrocketing to stardom, simply by making videos about New Mexico’s unique culture.

Phrases and things only New Mexicans know. Johnny James is sharing with the world:

• “Down here in New Mexico, we got our own way of doing things. And we DEFINITELY got our own way of saying things.”
• “You wanna go check out that new chicken place that just opened up real quick, errr what?”
• “The classic New Mexican phrase…ombers.”

Johnny James is an unintended influencer, having some fun with his own culture. He started making videos on social media during the pandemic. There’s a certain unfiltered authenticity that has garnered him hundreds of thousands of followers.

“I started making videos from a real point of view, from us down here, for us down here. And it just cracked off,” he said.

Johnny’s life hasn’t always been something you’d want to share online.

“Totally fair to say. Straight up, I’ll be all the way honest… from like 13 to when it was done, I grew up in the streets selling dope,” he said. “I got kicked out of school in the 11th grade. Had my ‘jito when I was 16. I always kinda credit him for shifting my trajectory.”

Now, at 39 years old, Johnny has four boys and has a career in music, podcasting, cannabis and, one that he hates to admit, influencing.

He knows having an influence can be a good thing.

“If I can be like, look… we have similar backgrounds but if you take a different route, look where we are now,” he said.

Johnny is using it good. Recently, he started a GoFundMe to raise money for people affected by the Ruidoso fires and flooding. As expected, New Mexicans have turned out, raising more than $70,000.

People know Johnny. When we cruised Central with him in his ’64 Impala lowrider, many people spotted him from a mile away so we had to stop a few times.

See the full cruise and story in the video above.