SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO
Lawmakers tour fire and flood recovery sites in Ruidoso
Legislative Finance Committee meets in village affected by recent wildfires
Published
RUIDOSO 鈥� At a community meeting Tuesday evening, Randall Hamilton brought a framed photograph of his red-topped cabin 鈥� among the first to be built in Ruidoso鈥檚 Upper Canyon 鈥� showing part of a log bridge that was once a connection between the canyon and the village center crossing the Rio Ruidoso.
鈥淲hen I was 6 years old, I crossed that bridge and jumped on one of the logs, making it go up and down, because it was two logs and just rough-hewn planks across it,鈥� Hamilton said. 鈥淚f the bridge washed out, someone donates two trees, and there we go again.鈥�
In 2008, a more modern iteration of the bridge was toppled after Hurricane Dolly hit southern Texas and caused the river to swell. The storm destroyed nine bridges, stranding inhabitants and killing one. The bridge near Hamilton鈥檚 cabin was replaced by a quickly executed concrete culvert that has stood since.
Eighteen years later, plans to replace six key bridges destroyed in that flood are in their initial analysis and design stage. The meeting was part of the process, seeking public input. Construction is planned to run from 2027 to 2028, with money for the project 鈥� a mix of federal, state and village funds 鈥� firmly in place, village officials and private contractors said.
In the two decades since these bridges were wrecked, Ruidoso has adjusted to fires and dangerous floods as a new norm, investing in new emergency management systems and public notifications for emergencies in which conditions may deteriorate in minutes.
The presentation on the bridges took place at the Ruidoso Convention Center, where state lawmakers on the Legislative Finance Committee convened this week. On Tuesday, they heard reports on increasingly frequent and intense wildfires as well as fire and flood response in Ruidoso, Lincoln County and on the adjacent Mescalero Apache Reservation.
FEMA approved funding has come in dribs and drabs: Ali Rye, state director of the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, confirmed that $230 million in FEMA-approved relief for New Mexico was pending.
Other federal support has come from the USDA鈥檚 National Resources Conservation Service, which has worked with local officials on a buyout program for eligible property owners, with over 200 participants in the appraisal process preceding any buyout offer, as of Wednesday.
The purchased properties will be cleared and the land used as greenspace, with no structures permitted, in perpetuity, under the program.
State and local officials recounted debates their agencies have had with FEMA, which they said treats disasters as discrete events and does not account for 鈥渃ascading effects鈥� in which the fallout from one disaster lingers and exacerbates the effects of the next one.
鈥淭here is not a more complex disaster zone than Ruidoso,鈥� the village鈥檚 deputy manager, Heath Dobrovolny, told the Journal on Wednesday.
The disastrous South Fork and Salt fires in 2024 left burn scars rapidly acting as channels for flash floods, making every summer monsoon rain dangerous. If more than half an inch falls in an hour over the South Fork Fire burn scar, there can be a flood. Flash flooding last summer destroyed homes, flung cars and other large objects, and killed three people.
Flooding also destroyed the Ruidoso Downs race track, forcing the entire racing schedule to move to sa国际传媒官网网页入口 this year, a blow to the village鈥檚 summer tourism that followed a disappointing ski season due to warm and dry winter conditions.
Village, county, state agencies and the reservation have worked amid intertwining jurisdictions, funding mechanisms to reshape floodways, establish structures to slow floodwaters and direct their travel, rehabilitate burn scar areas for new growth and train for disaster scenarios so as to keep inhabitants safe in the event of flooding or a new wildfire threat.
State Rep. Harlan Vincent, a Republican from Ruidoso Downs, additionally praised the Otero County Electric Cooperative for its mitigation efforts aiming to protect transmission lines from Ruidoso Downs to Alto.
He also urged state forester Laura McCarthy at New Mexico鈥檚 Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department to continue with her 鈥渁ggressive鈥� approach to thinning and mitigation, telling her, 鈥淵ou almost overwhelmed our town,鈥� clearing so much potential fuel for fires from the forest that local agencies were racing to move it out: 鈥淲e have a plan for it. It just hasn鈥檛 transitioned yet.鈥�
On Wednesday morning, lawmakers toured several sites to observe recovery projects and forest management sites 鈥� efforts that have received support from state appropriations.
While its year-round population is estimated around 7,000, Ruidoso has also been a popular vacation home market. During summer holidays the village has counted upwards of 75,000 or more inhabitants.
Ruidoso Emergency Manager Eric Queller said keeping the entire population safe, including visitors who may not be familiar with local roadways or natural hazards in a floodplain and the possibility of having to evacuate the entire village 鈥� as they did for the South Fork Fire 鈥� was essential for the village鈥檚 economy as well as human safety.
鈥淭his community can鈥檛 prosper if we don鈥檛 have our tourist population,鈥� he said during Wednesday鈥檚 tour.
As it happened, Wednesday鈥檚 tour fell on the second anniversary of the South Fork Fire.
Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.
