‘I’m going to be so happy:' Local resident talks about Monday’s planned return

Lauren McCullough, her fiancé and kids were among the thousands of people who evacuated the Village of Ruidoso June 17 when officials announced a mandatory order as the South Fork and Salt fires rapidly approached the community. Her home is near Alto, just north of Ruidoso. The family has been staying at a hotel in Albuquerque since.

After the Village announced a June 24 return is available for full-time residents, she expressed relief about being allowed to return. Several restaurants and individuals in Albuquerque have offered support in the form of gift cards for groceries and free meals, which have helped. But the unexpected out-of-town stay has taken a toll on her finances. Another evacuated family is staying in the same hotel.

“Our money has been dwindling – having to feed our families and keep the hotel,” she said. “I’m going to be so happy to go home and sleep in our own beds.”

More: Check here for the latest stats on the South Fork and Salt fires burning in Ruidoso

McCullough has several pets in tow; unfortunately, the family’s pet snake died suddenly, possibly because of the stress of the fast-paced evacuation. Still, she said, “we've been hanging in there.”

An estimated 1,400 structures – a mix of homes, businesses and outbuildings – were damaged or destroyed in the fires. At least two people died. Authorities are searching for more possible victims.

McCullough is aware her home is still standing because there’s a man in Ruidoso who’s been roaming through the evacuated zones posting videos on social media of neighborhoods, letting people know which homes burned and feeding animals that were left behind. She saw her home in one of the videos. But the fire came within two miles of the location.

Containment grows

Cooler, wetter weather that arrived in the region from the Gulf of Mexico was a favorable turn for crews combatting the fires. It was expected to slow the fires’ spread.

Saturday morning, fire officials released the latest numbers, saying the South Fork Fire, burning in the west and north of Ruidoso, has consumed 16,600 acres (a growth of about 200 acres since Thursday). It was 26% contained, compared to 0% previously.

The Salt Fire to the south, meanwhile, had burned just over 7,650 acres (on par with the last estimate stated by officials) and was 7% contained, compared to 0% on Thursday.

Both fires started Monday, June 17. Officials say the causes remain under investigation. Acreage has burned, too, on the Mescalero Apache Reservation just west of Ruidoso.

While rains and higher relative humidity have improved the situation for fire crews, the Southwest Area Incident Management Team #5, which is in charge of the fire response, “this incident is not over,” states an announcement Saturday from the group.

“Downed power lines, damaged water, sewer, and gas lines, localized flooding, fire weakened trees and other environmental hazards continue to pose risks to firefighters and the public,” the group said. “Extra precautions should be exercised along roads as emergency and fire vehicles, engines and equipment continue to travel and work along roadways.”

Officials said smoke and smoke damage to structures is another hazard of returning to the evacuated areas.

Returning home

McCullough said a concern she has about returning to her home is that she left about $600 in groceries behind, many of which have likely spoiled. Her fiancé turned off their power breaker as a precaution in case the blaze did reach their house. She’ll likely be boiling water, too, although she has several five-gallon jugs of drinking water at her house. She said she’ll be looking into purchasing Starlink internet because the local internet provider has had outages related to the fire, and she needs connectivity for work. Starlink, an Elon Musk company, is a satellite-based internet that’s an option for rural and remote locations.

McCullough said she’s been in touch with her homeowner’s insurance company and found that some of the costs she’s incurred because of the evacuation and fire might be reimbursable.

Despite what the village has been through, she’s expecting residents will come together to pitch in to recovery efforts. “It's a resilient town,” she said. “Our canopy may not look the same, but it doesn't change the people in it.”

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Ruidoso area resident looks forward to going home