Ruidoso’s Deadly Wildfires Under Investigation

RUIDOSO, N.M. (KRQE) – It has become one crisis after another for the Village of Ruidoso lately. Within hours of the South Fork and Salt Fires sparking, the entire village was under evacuation as the fire quickly spread to homes and businesses. At least two people were killed in the wildfire, around 1,400 structures were burned, and the feds are now offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of person(s) responsible for the fires.

This week on the New Mexico News Podcast, Chris and Gabby talk to a 74-year-old veteran who lost his home in the wildfire and stayed behind to help family and neighbors save theirs. Don Spencer explains how he and three city workers put out hot spots and flames at his sister’s back fence to save her home.

Spencer said he would like to find out who those three people are, and thank them personally. “These aren’t firefighters,” he explained. “These are city employees. They took it out of their own initiative and saved these three homes here.”

As noted in the full discussion above, Spencer’s daughter set up a GoFundMe page for her dad. Click here to visit that page .

Download new episodes of the New Mexico News Podcast every Tuesday, starting around 5:30 a.m., Mountain time. Episodes are available on most podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Podbean among others.

Having trouble finding the show? Try searching your favorite podcast player with the term “KRQE” or “New Mexico News Podcast” (without the quotes). You can also use the links above to find the podcast on each respective service or listen to the audio player at the top of this post.

If you have a question, comment, or suggestion as to who should be interviewed on the podcast, let us know! Email the hosts at chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com.

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