Two dead in New Mexico wildfires, over 1,400 buildings destroyed

(Reuters) – Two people have died in wildfires in southern New Mexico. More than 1,400 houses and other buildings were destroyed and around 8,000 residents of the mountain resort of Ruidoso had to be evacuated.

The unidentified skeletal remains of a person were found in the driver’s seat of a burned-out car, New Mexico State Police reported Wednesday. Another victim was identified as 60-year-old Patrick Pearson.

The relatively small fires are raging about 135 miles (217 kilometers) southeast of Albuquerque, the state’s largest city, in an area that has been hit by a series of wildfires, including one that killed two people in 2022.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday called on President Joe Biden to declare a state of emergency for the South Fork and Salt fires, which have burned more than 23,000 acres (9,308 hectares) north and south of Ruidoso.

New Mexico has been suffering from drought for nearly three decades, leading to even greater destructive power and faster spread of wildfires.

In 2022, the state suffered the largest fire in the Americas, burning over 341,000 acres (138,000 hectares).

(Reporting by Andrew Hay, editing by Miral Fahmy)