New Mexico village on alert as June wildfires are followed by devastating flash floods: NPR

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The mountain town of Ruidoso, NM, has been going from one event to the next. In June, wildfires turned deadly and many residents had to be evacuated. Today, Ruidoso is under a flood warning after rescue workers rescued more than 160 people from the floodwaters over the weekend. Johnny Coker of member station KRWG is reporting on the situation, joining us from Las Cruces, NM. Hi everyone.

JOHNNY COKER, BYLINE: Hey. How’s it going?

SHAPIRO: OK, what does Ruidoso look like today?

COKER: It looks pretty clear right now, but there are storms moving in that could bring rain tonight. The National Weather Service says there’s a 60% chance of rain, so not much, but we’ve seen that even a brief thunderstorm in the wrong place can cause significant flooding.

SHAPIRO: And have people left town, given everything that’s happened in the last month?

COKER: I mean, most people moved away when the wildfires that started this all got so bad in mid-June. When they hit, the whole village was forced to evacuate, so that was about 8,000 people. And an estimated 1,400 structures were lost in the fires that burned over 25,000 acres of land. But all in all, people were allowed to return pretty quickly to assess the damage and start preparing for the peak of Ruidoso’s tourist season. Even the mayor told me he was glad that business was coming back so quickly since tourism is such an important part of the town’s economy.

And so residents and business owners were preparing to return to at least some level of normalcy, but then just this past weekend, the town was hit by heavy rains that caused flooding and prompted evacuation orders and water rescues. A Lincoln County official told me that emergency responders rescued 21 people on Saturday and 143 on Sunday. And now village officials are asking tourists and second-home owners to stay away for now. But still, many businesses are open and residents are simply trying to return to some level of normalcy, even as they contend with the storms and flash floods.

SHAPIRO: But if there is another storm surge and severe flooding, is the city doing anything to prepare and not be faced with the same situation as this weekend?

COKER: Well, we’re in the middle of monsoon season in New Mexico, and everyone here is preparing for it. And that’s going to be a threat all summer long, so city officials are trying to be prepared with the right resources in the right places. At the emergency operations center in Ruidoso, a meteorologist is keeping an eye on thunderstorm cells in the area, and whitewater rescue teams are stationed in affected areas. And even National Guard troops are still in town. And on top of all that, some wildfire crews are helping fill and distribute sandbags to mitigate flood damage to property in the area. The major wildfires themselves are pretty much contained at this point, so first responders have really started preparing for more flooding like this.

SHAPIRO: And then there’s the question of recovery. What does the city need to recover from the flood in addition to the fires?

COKER: When you talk to village officials, they’re just asking for more time and for people to avoid the area until the flooding is under control. Still, villagers and businesses want to get back to a state where they can welcome tourists. As I said, that’s such a big part of their economy. Whether that’s going to be possible with the storms coming remains to be seen. Because of the flooding, they haven’t even been able to send county assessors to assess the extent of the wildfire damage in town. So the situation is very uncertain at this point.

SHAPIRO: Johnny Coker of member station KRWG in New Mexico. Thank you.

COKER: Thanks guys for having me here.

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