Authorities ordered the immediate evacuation of Ruidoso, N.M., on Monday as a wildfire raged right outside the town.
New Mexico
Wildfire forces New Mexico town of Ruidoso to evacuate
The South Fork Fire was spreading just northwest of the town of 7,700 people. As of Monday evening, it had grown to an estimated 360 acres and was threatening multiple structures, according to the New Mexico Forestry Division, dwarfing the nearby Salt Fire, which covered 35 acres.
Evacuation centers were set up at the Inn of the Mountain Gods, a lodging facility about three miles south of Ruidoso, and at Eastern New Mexico University at Roswell, about 65 miles east of the town.
A live webcam showed heavy traffic heading east, as haze and smoke filled the skies.
Ruidoso was designated a high-risk area by federal officials in 2000 because of the thick forests surrounding the town, which can serve as fuel for wildfire, resulting in “catastrophic” damage to residential properties, the water supply and the local population, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.