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Forest fire burning near Ruidoso
El Paso Times ^
| October 28, 2003
| AP
Posted on 10/28/2003 6:09:50 PM PST by FITZ
RUIDOSO, N.M. - Nearly 40 summer homes and cabins were voluntarily evacuated as a forest fire burned through at least 350 acres of steep terrain north of here.
Forest officials were waiting Tuesday for more air support to help battle the blaze, which started Monday night near N.M. 532 and burned mainly in the Lincoln National Forest.
"The key is getting those resources that have been ordered," said Bill Duemling, a fire information officer. An air tanker, designed to drop fire retardant, along with three water-dropping helicopters were called in to help.
The fire was being mapped from the air Tuesday.
"It's jumped around a bit. It's behaving pretty erratically," Duemling said.
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Department was trying to determine the cause of the fire, which was believed to be caused by a person.
The blaze, pushed by shifting wind, was burning through thick stands of trees along steep slopes in the Capitan Mountains about seven miles north of Ruidoso. It leaped from tree top to tree top and embers were causing spot fires.
One spot fire flared on Mescalero Apache tribal land, and tribal firefighters were battling that blaze.
Duemling said people had voluntarily evacuated from nearly 40 homes on private land and cabins on forest service land. No structures were immediately threatened.
The fire forced the closure of N.M. 532 - the road to Ski Apache ski area - and Forest Road 117.
Duemling said officials were expecting two single-engine air tankers grounded by winds in Clovis to join the firefighting effort late Tuesday as winds there subsided.
There were 75 people assigned to the fire, along with six engines and three water tenders.
"One of the difficulties in this fire is it's in steep areas and it's going to be hard to access," Duemling said. "We're going to have to fight the hot spots with hand tools and hike in water."
New Mexico, which has been plagued by drought, had 1,477 fires that burned 78,783 acres between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, federal officials said. There were 2,179 fires that scorched 424,708 acres in 2002.
Full story in tomorrow's El Paso Times
TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; US: New Mexico
KEYWORDS: arson; fire; forestfires; newmexico
"The Lincoln County Sheriff's Department was trying to determine the cause of the fire, which was believed to be caused by a person."
more fires
1
posted on
10/28/2003 6:09:51 PM PST
by
FITZ
To: Sabertooth
Fires in New Mexico.
2
posted on
10/28/2003 6:10:14 PM PST
by
FITZ
To: FITZ
Beautiful area. Nice race track, too. Did they ever build the prison?
3
posted on
10/28/2003 6:14:17 PM PST
by
South40
(My vote helped defeat bustamante. Did yours?)
To: Frank_Discussion
4
posted on
10/28/2003 6:17:30 PM PST
by
nothingnew
(The pendulum is swinging and the Rats are in the pit!)
To: South40
I don't know about the prison. Hopefully with the fires they had a couple years ago, this one won't amount to much. Weird they think someone set it though.
5
posted on
10/28/2003 6:24:31 PM PST
by
FITZ
To: FITZ
Great go-track facility in town. SAVE IT NO MATTER WHAT!
6
posted on
10/28/2003 6:26:11 PM PST
by
Dog Gone
To: FITZ
I was there a few years back and a friend told me there was a plan to build a new prison. The folks down in Carizoso wanted it there because they needed the jobs but the town of Ruidoso was more likely to get it. Perhaps it never came to be.
7
posted on
10/28/2003 6:38:19 PM PST
by
South40
(My vote helped defeat bustamante. Did yours?)
To: FITZ
Ski Apache Mountain Ruidoso, Sierra Blanca.......... beautiful..........
8
posted on
10/28/2003 6:45:03 PM PST
by
Texas Deer Hunter
(Liberals and Democrats suck the life out of every living thing. Pure evil.)
To: nothingnew
My wife has relatives in Alto, NM which N.M.532 runs into.
Anybody know the actual location of the fire(s) in relation to Alto (which is just north of Ruidoso)?
9
posted on
10/28/2003 8:07:08 PM PST
by
VeniVidiVici
(There is nothing Democratic about the Democrat party.)
To: VeniVidiVici
Alto is pretty close to the ski slopes and apparently the fire is on the ski slopes. There have been recent fires in that part of New Mexico --- maybe there isn't going to be enough underbrush to fuel them for too long.
10
posted on
10/28/2003 8:41:34 PM PST
by
FITZ
To: nothingnew
Thanks for the heads up. Grrrr...
11
posted on
10/29/2003 6:31:38 AM PST
by
Frank_Discussion
(May the wings of Liberty never lose a feather!)
To: FITZ
Thank you. We were concerned so we called them last night. They said the fires were about 5 miles away but since they are elderly, we told them to gather what they needed so that they could leave on a moment's notice if the need arose.
12
posted on
10/29/2003 8:31:17 AM PST
by
VeniVidiVici
(There is nothing Democratic about the Democrat party.)
To: VeniVidiVici
13
posted on
10/29/2003 4:25:12 PM PST
by
FITZ
To: FITZ
Thanks for the ping. I think I'm going to need to keep a closer eye on it.
14
posted on
10/29/2003 8:43:01 PM PST
by
VeniVidiVici
(There is nothing Democratic about the Democrat party.)
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