6,000-plus acres consumed by Ruidoso fire

RUIDOSO — A wildfire that started Monday morning at the Three Rivers Campground near Ruidoso had consumed 6,100 acres by Tuesday morning.

Officials said the fire was 0 percent contained early Tuesday and multiple communities had been evacuated.

Nmfireinfo.com reported Tuesday no structures had been burned and no injuries had been reported.

“Cooler temperatures and precipitation moved into the area earlier than forecasted and is dropping rain and snow on parts of the fire this (Tuesday) morning,” the website reported.

But officials warned temperatures and wind were expected to pick up Tuesday afternoon, which would likely allow fire activity to pick up again.

The fire was first reported about 8:45 a.m. Monday morning, about a half mile from the Three Rivers Campground on the backside of the White Mountains. It quickly spread to the boundaries of Ski Apache and into the South Fork and Bonito area.

Smoke from the fire was visible throughout eastern New Mexico and into the Texas Panhandle by Monday afternoon.

Evacuation notices were in place for the following areas Tuesday:

• Nogal Canyon Area

• Bonito Canyon Area

• Tanbark

• Church

• Ranchman's Camp

• Loma Grande

• Cora Dutton

• Magado

• Ski Apache

Evacuation centers were at:

• Nazarene Church Camp at 200 Bonito Park Rd. Alto, NM 88316

• Capitan Senior Center at 412 Tiger Drive Capitan, NM 88316

• Ruidoso Downs Senior Center at 393 Highway 70 West Rd. Ruidoso Downs, NM 88346.

(Evacuees with livestock can take their animals to Lincoln County Fairgrounds at 101 5th St. Capitan, NM. Please call 575-336-8600 if you need assistance transporting your animals.)

The following roads were closed Tuesday morning;

• Ski Run Road

• Bonito Canyon Road aka Rd 107

• Nogal Canyon Road aka 400

• Three Rivers Trailhead and Campground

• Monjeau at Sierra Vista