RUIDOSO, New Mexico.One year after wildfire and severe flooding transformed the popular vacation destination and its environs, the mountain community of Ruidoso returned to the dismal rituals of reconstruction following flash flooding and a fatal natural disaster.
As workers cleared roads and culverts following Tuesday’s flash flood, which claimed three lives, including two children, and severely damaged up to 50 homes, including one that was completely washed away, there were still broken tree limbs, twisted metal, crushed cars, and muddy debris.
A Ruidoso resident who was about to retire, Tracy Haragan, watched from his house as nine neighboring homes’ belongings were washed away by a rushing river.
He remarked, “You saw everything they had, everything they owned, everything went down.” It simply takes a tail-whipping occasionally, but otherwise, it’s such a great town. We always make it out alive.
The catastrophe started on Tuesday due to a severe storm of monsoon rains. A dad and two kids from an RV park along the river were carried away when water came from the nearby mountainside, overflowing the Rio Ruidoso. During the search and rescue operation, the bodies were discovered downstream.
When they were washed away, the four-year-old girl and the seven-year-old boy were camping with their parents. Officials at Fort Bliss, where the father is stationed, said the mother and father were receiving medical attention at a hospital in Texas.
As locals start to assess the devastation, Mayor Lynn Crawford remarked that their guts are in knots and their hearts are broken over the deaths lost.
Rebuilding
Ruidoso, a well-liked vacation spot, has seen its share of tragedies. After last summer’s devastating wildfires and the ensuing water, it has been rebuilding for a year.
According to Barbara Arthur, proprietor of Riverside RV Park, rebuilding in Ruidoso will be difficult, if not impossible.
When the water began to flow through the location on Tuesday afternoon, Arthur claims her guests clambered up a nearby slope. In addition, she lost her house to flooding.
The river rose six times in the past few weeks, and this time it was by far the worst, she added. Additionally, Tuesday’s rainfall exceeded what the hillsides and canyons within a wildfire burn scar could absorb.
Creating records
According to Todd Shoemake, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Albuquerque, the floodwaters of the Rio Ruidoso climbed more than 20 feet (6 meters) on Tuesday, setting a new record high-water level. That was almost five feet (1.5 meters) higher than the previous peak, which was set in July 2024.
In just one and a half hours, the South Fork burn scar received almost 3.5 inches (8.9 centimeters) of rain, according to Crawford. Flooding can result from as little as a quarter of an inch (about 6 millimeters) of rain falling on a burn scar.
Before it even began to rain on top of the wildfire burn scar, they were most likely already receiving some runoff from upstream, according to Shoemake. That was actually just a horrible coincidence of circumstances.
The heavy downpour was compared to a 100-year storm, which has a 1% probability of occurring in any given year, he said.
Cleaning starts
Before the water subsided Tuesday, emergency personnel performed scores of quick water rescues. According to Danielle Silva of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, when the flooding started, two National Guard units and a number of local staff were already present.
With over $50 million spent on emergency response costs, such as water rescues, and damage to public infrastructure, including as collapsed bridges and washed-out roads, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham asked for a presidential disaster declaration. Flood damage from monsoon rainstorms since late June is included in the estimate for Ruidoso and surrounding areas.
Following years of severe flooding that exposed the risks of an extended floodplain, Ruidoso recently asked for $100 million in government assistance to turn private land that is vulnerable to flooding into public property.
The Ruidoso floods occurred just a few days after Texas flash floods claimed over 100 lives and left over 160 more missing.
Waiting for more
According to local officials, the village was still restoring outdoor warning sirens that had been destroyed in the wildfire last year and reevaluating the hazards along the local flood plain when the flood struck.
As efforts to recover from the conflagration continue, Crawford reaffirmed Wednesday that Ruidoso will remain a target with every monsoon. June marks the start of the rainy season, which lasts until September.
Meanwhile, there is a lot of silt in the river, which could settle and cause future water levels to rise.
The village’s economy, which depends on tourism, has also been rocked by the recent upheaval. One of the main races at Ruidoso Downs, which was supposed to begin Friday, has been postponed due to floodwaters flowing through the track.
People are worried since the monsoon is expected to bring additional rain throughout the summer, according to the mayor.
Wednesday remarked, “You know, yesterday was a good lesson that Mother Nature is a much bigger, powerful force than we are.” And so although we can strive to help guide and protect ourselves in many ways, we are powerless.
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Bryan reported from Albuquerque, and Lee from Santa Fe, New Mexico. This article was written by Christopher L. Keller of the Associated Press in Albuquerque and Matt Brown of the Denver Associated Press.
