Growing up in the southern New Mexico resort community of Ruidoso, my father always said he feared that some day there would be a catastrophic forest fire that raced through the canyon and destroyed much of the community.
As you’ve probably been reading or hearing on electronic media, that very thing seems to have happened this week with devastating results.
As I write this, the extent of the damage is not completely known. And to make matters worse, the area was pounded by heavy rain and hail today, likely triggering flooding from runoff which normally would have been held back by vegetation.
Winston Churchill is credited with the phrase “sum of all fears” and in this case forest fires and heavy rain and hail seem to have combined to create that apocalyptic situation.
As my readers may recall, I’ve spent quite a bit of time in Ruidoso in the last several months working on a Trout in the Classroom project for the third graders at White Mountain Elementary. The project helps students learn about the importance of clean, cold water fisheries and the environment and give them an appreciation for nature in general and trout in particular.
I fear that most of those tiny fish we put in the Rio Ruidoso in early May are now gone because of this catastrophe — likely suffocating from mud and ash washed into the river and unable to survive a raging torrent of water.
But that’s only a minor concern. I think about the kids who were so excited to participate in the program. Who knows how many of them have lost their homes? Who knows how many of them will have to move somewhere else because their parents will lose their jobs because of the collapse of the tourist industry or the loss of their parents’ business? Who knows what kinds of nightmares they will experience after witnessing the giant smoke and flame-filled clouds racing toward them
And I worry about the teachers — two in particular — who I worked with so closely to set up the Trout in the Classroom program. At least one of them had to evacuate and I’m not sure about the other one. I texted both of them when the story broke and said I was thinking of them and hoping for the best. I think they still don’t know if their home survived. And in the long run, I suspect many families will move out of Ruidoso when their work and home is gone, meaning enrollment in the schools will likely decline. Will the decline in enrollment mean some layoffs in the school system? I hope my two favorite teachers survive — they are the type of teachers you want your kids to have.
Will an expected significant decline in summer visitors mean many of the small businesses that barely make it in Ruidoso have to close? Will the waiters, people who clean hotel rooms, shop attendants, mechanics, etc. have to relocate to find a new job?
I worry about the many friends we have who have vacation cabins or second homes in the Ruidoso area, many of whom looked forward to being in cool Ruidoso during the hot summer months here. And I think of the many people who looked forward to retirement in Ruidoso, wondering if their homes were spared and what kind of place the Village of Ruidoso will be like in the coming years.
It’s all very frightening and I wish all of them all the best and keep them in my prayers.
Ruidoso was a wonderful place to grow up as a kid. I think it shaped me in my generally positive outlook on life. I hope none of that goes away for those who experienced this tragedy, and that things can return to as near as normal soon.
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