The fire has risen to more than 6,100 acres, according to an update provided earlier Saturday. But after news of the restriction, most evacuation orders were revoked, except in the Gavilan Canyon areas from Warrior Drive south to Highway 70 and Lower Eagle Creek, state police said Saturday night.
The area where the fire is burning continues to be at high risk of fire until at least Sunday, as dry and ventilated conditions are expected to continue unabated, CNN meteorologist Jean Norman said.
Two people died in the fire, state police said in a press release earlier this week.
Firefighters battled the blaze Tuesday at a home in the village of Ruidoso, about a 180-mile drive southeast of Albuquerque, the statement said. That evening, local police learned that an elderly couple who tried to evacuate the fire were “unknown to family members,” the statement said. Authorities found the remains of two people at the home the next day, state police said.
Others in the village told the CNN KFOX branch that the flames caught them by surprise. Mary Smith’s 83-year-old husband called her after waking up and finding that their neighborhood had been engulfed in flames.
“He said, ‘Honey, everything around us is burning, I have to get out of here,'” Mary Smith told the branch. She added that someone from their church had called her husband and woke him up, otherwise “my husband would still be asleep”.
After residents said they had not received prior notice of the blaze, the village of Ruidoso wrote on Facebook that it was aware of fears that local sirens would not turn on when the fire approached. Officials said in a comment box on Facebook that the power supply was cut off due to damaged power lines, and although a signal was sent to residents, “these notices were not delivered to all” due to power outages.
“The sirens were also activated, but due to a power outage they did not function properly,” village officials wrote. “It was a fast-moving fire and first aid workers went door-to-door to inform people to evacuate immediately.
“Obviously we have found some weaknesses,” Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford said during a virtual briefing on Saturday night, adding that local officials had communicated with the governor on the issue and the resources they needed. New Mexico Gov. Michel Lujan Grisham visited the village and met with local officials who wrote on Twitter on Friday: “There is no doubt that recovery will be a challenging process, but the state will be an active partner with Ruidoso and Lincoln County every step of the way. . “
The cause of the fire remains to be clarified.
Several fires raise concerns
The McBride fire is not the only one burning parts of the state.
The largest of the flames, the Hermit’s Fire Peak, burned for 10 days on Saturday and rose to more than 7,300 acres. The blaze in parts of San Miguel County was contained to 46% on Saturday, with the help of more than 500 officers fighting the blaze, authorities said in an update. Around noon on Saturday, local authorities said firefighters were battling efforts to put out part of the blaze, and said several nearby communities remained under mandatory evacuation, while others were directed to prepare for a potential evacuation.
A red flag recommendation indicating an increased risk of fire was in force overnight, officials said.
Further south, the fire in Nogal Canyon also marked a jump in Saturday’s limit to 42% in the evening, compared to 4% in a statement earlier in the day. All evacuation orders were revoked by evening, officials said at the briefing.
The fires have raised air quality concerns, senior health and environmental officials said Friday, urging residents to protect themselves and learn about ways to maintain air quality safety, such as “setting home air conditioners to” recycle “During fires,” the state health and environmental services said in a joint press release.
“There are air quality conditions that can be detrimental to the health of at-risk populations and can create dangerous driving conditions in areas directly affected by fires,” said David R. Scrias, acting secretary of the New Mexico Health Department. . statement.
“Smoke exposure can worsen conditions such as asthma, chronic lung disease or cardiovascular disease,” Scrase added.
CNN’s Chris Boyet and Paradise Afshar contributed to this report.
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