Two people have died in wildfires in southern New Mexico that have burned around 500 homes and triggered the evacuation of about 8,000 residents from the mountain resort community of Ruidoso.
The unidentified skeletal remains of a person were found in the driver's seat of a burned out car, New Mexico State Police reported on Wednesday. Another victim was identified as 60-year-old Patrick Pearson.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham told reporters around 500 homes were thought to be among the more than 1,400 buildings razed by the two blazes, making it one of the most destructive wildfires in state history.
The forest area around 135 miles southeast of Albuquerque, New Mexico's largest city, has suffered a string of wildfires, including one that killed two people in 2022.
Lujan Grisham on Wednesday requested a major disaster declaration from President Joe Biden for the South Fork and Salt fires, which have burned over 23,000 acres (9,308 hectares) to the north and south of Ruidoso.
New Mexico is caught in a decades-long drought that has made wildfires more destructive and faster moving.
In 2022 the state suffered the largest blaze in the continental United States which burned over 341,000 acres (138,000 hectares).
Latest Stories
-
We’ll establish fiscal council to rein in excessive borrowing – Finance Minister
11 seconds -
Mortuary workers issue fresh strike threat
4 mins -
‘Lapses in banking system are not unique’ – John Awuah on managing fraud in Ghana’s Banks
12 mins -
Bawumia confident of victory in 2024 election
46 mins -
Strengthening audit institutions essential for tackling fiscal mismanagement – Domelevo
57 mins -
Healthy Aging: The Role of the Gut Microbiome and How Diet Can Help
58 mins -
Seek medical care, diagnosis for breast cancer – Dr Abiti to women
1 hour -
Hardship: Men now collect marriage list from different families to get cheapest – Report
1 hour -
‘If you’re looking for trouble, you’ll get it,’ Falz tells VeryDarkMan
1 hour -
Paramount Chief of Avenor grateful to NPP, calls for completion of Agenda 111 project
2 hours -
Bawumia commissions ultramodern office complex for Ho Municipal Assembly
2 hours -
Bawumia declares NPP’s infrastructure record unmatched
2 hours -
Importers face duty on Electric Vehicles despite gov’t’s exemption promises
2 hours -
4 additional Democracy Hub protesters discharged
2 hours -
Election 2024: Alan Kyerematen lacks a message – Hassan Ayariga
2 hours