New Mexico town faces flash flooding after wildfire damage - VIDEO
A New Mexico mountain town, still reeling from last year's deadly wildfires, was struck by severe flooding on Tuesday after heavy rainfall drenched areas burned in the blazes.
Local officials reported dangerous conditions, including mudslides and gas leaks, as homes were washed away or severely damaged, News.Az reports, citing NBC News.
Multiple bridges had been underwater, Crawford said, and there had been more than two dozen swift-water rescues.
Three people were missing, he said. "They’re in the process of looking," Crawford said Tuesday night on radio station KRUI. He said the fires and the flooding have been "catastrophic" for the small community.
The storms that triggered the floods occurred during the monsoon season, which runs from late June to early September. The storms can cause flash floods that can come on quickly. Crawford said Tuesday's monsoon flood was one of the worst he has seen.
"Last year we had a bad one or two, but this one was right there with it," Crawford said.
Ruidoso New Mexico is flooding again. My Family is there as we speak. CRAZY!!! #ruidoso #flood pic.twitter.com/FAfZaE2sY0
— Benny Winslow (@benny_wins1247) July 9, 2025
No deaths had been reported Tuesday night. Some people have been taken to the hospital, Crawford said. People who were safe and dry should stay there, he said.
In a post on Facebook, the village asked people who could not reach their families to report the missing to the community’s emergency operations center.
Videos posted on social media and verified by NBC News showed roads submerged in fast-moving floodwaters and a home smashing into trees after it was swept down a river, Rio Ruidoso.
Crawford said that before the rains, the river that swept away the house was so small "you could have jumped across it."
There have been around 30 swift-water rescues, Crawford said, noting that there have also been reports of dead horses.
The National Weather Service said the river appeared to have crested at a record 20 feet Tuesday.
The agency declared a flash flood emergency after an inch of rain had fallen by Tuesday afternoon on burn scars left by fires that tore through the area last year, killing two people and burning hundreds of homes.
The South Fork Fire ignited June 17, 2024, and burned through more than 17,000 acres. The fire was so hot that it turned soil hydrophobic, meaning it does not absorb water, Crawford said. There was flooding in the community last year.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday night signed an emergency declaration request seeking aid from the federal government.
"Ruidoso endured devastating wildfires and flooding last summer, and now catastrophic flooding is hitting this resilient community again. This crisis demands immediate action," she said in a statement.
Ruidoso, which has a population of 7,600 people, is roughly 180 miles southeast of Albuquerque, in the Sierra Blanca mountain range.
On its website, the village says that the surrounding mountainous terrain makes it susceptible to flash flooding. Burn scars can make flash flooding worse.
"This one hit us harder than we were expecting," Crawford said.
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