A second death was reported Wednesday in a pair of wildfires in New Mexico that have forced the evacuation of thousands of people in and around the town of Ruidoso and destroyed around 1,400 structures.
Both bodies were found Tuesday, a day after the fires broke out and quickly spread, New Mexico State Police spokesperson Wilson Silver said.
One person was found in a burned vehicle in the South Fork Fire in the Village of Ruidoso, which had been ordered to evacuate on Monday, Wilson said. That person was not identified.
The body of the second person, Patrick Pearson, 60, was found on the side of a road near the Swiss Chalet Motel with burn injuries from the fire, Wilson said.
Around 8,000 people in and around Ruidoso have been ordered to evacuate in the face of the South Fork Fire and the Salt Fire, which both broke out Monday morning on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.
The fires have destroyed around 1,400 homes and other structures, and were expected to grow Wednesday, the New Mexico Forestry Division said. The South Fork Fire has burned an estimated 16,335 acres, and the Salt Fire has burned an estimated 7,071 acres, the state Forestry Division said in a Wednesday update.
Both fires were 0% contained.
The South Fork Fire is in Ruidoso and beyond it to the west and north, according to fire maps from the state forestry division, while the Salt Fire is to the south of the town of around 7,500. A run on the Salt Fork fire forced the evacuation of the community of Ruidoso Downs on Tuesday, officials said.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has called the wildfires a crisis and declared a state of emergency, which allows for greater aid. She has vowed that all resources were being sent to help, and also sent members of the National Guard to help.
