RUIDOSO — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham visited the Red Cross shelter established at the Ruidoso Convention Center which was established to house people displaced by two wildfires burning in Lincoln County.
Evacuation orders for several neighborhoods in Ruidoso remain in place.
The New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management urged residents to remain away from active and passive fire sites.
“We know people going through this devastating and emotional time want to collect their belongings and assess the damage to their homes,” said DHSEM Deputy Secretary Kelly Hamilton.
“We kindly ask you to please practice patience. These areas are too dangerous and the last thing we want is for anyone to be seriously hurt. Fires can quickly change direction, burned out root systems can cause trees to fall, and homes may be unsafe to enter."
Firefighters continued to work to contain the perimeter of the McBride Fire which had already destroyed 207 homes and killed two people.
A red flag warning was put in place Friday morning, a warning which pointed to dry weather and gusty conditions which could push the fire to spread past the 6,000 acres it had already consumed.
The Nogal Fire, located just north of the community of Carrizozo, was just 4% contained by Friday afternoon. That fire destroyed six homes, eight outbuildings and 427 acres of federal land.
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