2nd death reported in New Mexico wildfires, with blazes predicted to grow
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.
A second death was reported Wednesday in a pair of wildfires in New Mexico that have forced the evacuations 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 spread quickly, New Mexico State Police spokesperson Wilson Silver said.
Smoke from a wildfire partially blocks the sun in the village of Ruidoso, N.M., on Tuesday, where thousands were forced to evacuate.Andres Leighton / The Associated Press One person was found in a burned vehicle in the South Fork Fire in the village of Ruidoso, which had been ordered to evacuate 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.Both fires were 0% contained, and what sparked them remains under investigation.
The fires have destroyed around 1,400 structures and were expected to grow Wednesday, the New Mexico Forestry Division said.
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