Ruidoso and federal leaders brace for long recovery process

Village leaders revealed Saturday the town will start to reopen Monday morning, Story: www.kob.com/new-mexico/ruidos...
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[@saintnash1]

Ruidoso. The name does not mean "noisy water". It is derived from the Spanish "Rio de Oso" or river of the Black Bear. Spanish missionaries moving from the south called it that because it was full of black bears. It was still full of black bears until about 18 years ago when the region started having many wildfires. I lived there and studied the forest and geology of the Sacramento Mtns. It was a sparsely populated area until the 1970s when Texans bought up much of the land for resort homes and the racetrack and ski area began drawing larger crowds. People over-developed the Ruidoso River basin, the Bonito River basin and the area between the two. The tall pine forest that Ruidoso and the Sacramento Mtns was known for is a strange holdover from the last mini-ice age. It is the southern- most forest of it's kind in North America. Abundant water and a cool high alpine environment allowed this forest to survive well after that ice-age receded. But it was fragile. Thousands of years of wildfire and subsequent regrowth of the forest made it dense with huge pine trees and aspens. Water was plentiful until the last 70 years or so. As droughts struck the mountains the trees got infested with bark beetles. A significant part of the forest was weakened and trees fell by the thousands... hundreds of thousands. These dead trees...some as big as four feet in diameter laid on the forest floor and became fuel for subsequent wildfires. As more people developed the region for homes and businesses the forests in the mountains above the Ruidoso and Bonito River drainages were left untouched. Many fires were started by lightning and some were man caused. Winds blew down power lines and caused some. The dead fall on the forest floor was dense and ripe for fire. The Mescalero Reservation and the headwaters of the Rio Ruidoso were always a funnel for fire to channel into the village. That's what almost happened with the Little Bear Fire and that is what happened in this SouthFork Fire incident. When people build in forests that are suffering from the wounds of drought, this is going to happen. It's not a question of "if" ... it's a question of when. These fires cannot be prevented. They will happen again and the pine trees will not grow back. They will be replaced with grasses and scrub trees that require far less water and snow to grow. Higher temperatures will also prevent the pines from coming back. Less of the snowpack required for the ponderosa pines to survive is being seen and the bark beetles are always there to kill the weakened water-starved trees. This is the reality of Ruidoso, Cloudcroft and the Sacramento Mtns future. I moved to the Northern Arizona Mogollon Rim. Flagstaff and the White Mtns also have pine forests that are being strangled by drought. This is how it will go and it can't be reversed. The forests we love to live in and play in will be gone sooner than you think.

[@uriel4892]

cool story, but ruidoso literally means ' very noisy' in Spanish and ruido means noise

[@moonmagic68]

@@uriel4892. So, was it really noisy over there when the first settlers came? Why did they name it very noisy?

[@tishkerrville8942]

30 yrs of GeoEngineering > manufactured Weather has been used to deem peoples' properties uninhabitable to get 👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 corraled into city gulags > AGENDA 21/30

[@nmelkhunter1]

Where did you get this information? Please cite your sources.

[@leslijones4443]

I hate to hear this. Ruidoso is a place I’ve loved my whole life. A lot of development happened in the 60’s .. my little brother and I returned one summer to one of our favorite mountains, and found much of it had been cleared for a KOA campground… I was always told it meant Noisy Water. Thank you for this history and insight. It used to rain almost every morning there. I still hope to get back, although my Dad has passed and we no longer have Quarter Horses. Some of the best times of my childhood were spent in Ruidoso. Hope they can recover alright.

[@fluxfaze]

Long recovery, indeed. More than two years after, FEMA still has not compensated Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire victims, and they been greedily squatting on almost $4B to do so.

[@douglaskerr9189]

Right on... I was just thinking that the Hermits Peak fire victims are still waiting for compensation.

[@KD-nk3ht]

Compensated for WHAT?? They had plenty of insurance and/or plenty of 💰 set aside for unforeseen booboos; and if they didn't: That's on them. Their stupidity should not be my problem.

[@nmelkhunter1]

@@KD-nk3htThe Hermit’s Peak fire was caused by a USFS prescribed burn that wasn’t properly contained and the Calf Canyon fire was caused by a USFS slash pile that wasn’t properly contained. The fires resulted from USFS negligence and the damage should be paid for by the Feds. Pretty straightforward.

[@ChristopherVernon-kf1uz]

FEMA payouts are happening for Hermits Peak Calf Canyon fire victims, we were pleasantly surprised by what we received.

[@douglaskerr9189]

@@KD-nk3ht Learn about New Mexico and rural life before you make an ignorant statement..

[@reneec1159]

Wortf?

[@TGTree]

😂 reporting at it's best, during emergenthsy!

[@cherylbean5881]

Ongoing prayers

[@Hello_jo]

Don’t worry I’m sure the federal govt will write them a $700 check

[@moonmagic68]

Maybe they will stay in really nice resorts and get fed 3 cooked meals a day like we are in Lahaina. I certainly hope so 😊🩵. Your tax dollars hard at work

[@Hello_jo]

@@moonmagic68 I think it’s despicable that you’re only getting a $700 check and put up in a hotel when other countries are getting billions of dollars for war, by the way. Your comment is the equivalent to people who were happy to take the jab for a free hamburger. This is why the ruling class is easily ruining the foundations of this country. Enjoy your resort stay.

[@AMDbAmber-Mad-Database]

It's about time that the recovery is really happening.

[@ducngo1966]

The wildfire Riudoso, New Mexico problem. Water. Wheels. Gasolines cans explosion wildfire problem. Gasoline can explosion wildfire causes dearh.

[@creaturafauna]

Wow! Will take land 20+ years to bounce back… real estate market for land just collapsed… was such a beautiful place… Nature’s Way…

[@ducngo1966]

Flashflood waters danger. Lifes jackets. Boats. Helicopters searches and rescues. Airplanes? ? Parachutes? ?

[@muhammadbinahmedhumanscien3515]

Telipathi for your business

[@wanderingquestions7501]

THIS is what our government is suppose to do, rather than nurturing poverty, discord, hate, and wars all around the World.

[@jimmylieb5225]

trump does that

[@wanderingquestions7501]

@@jimmylieb5225 ….you mean that’s why Miriam Adelson (Jewish donor) has offered Trump 100 million dollars if when in the WH he gives all Palestine to Israel? We’ll see how honest Trump is when 100 million bribe is made for him to give away something that he doesn’t own. We’ll know how corrupt he is.

[@DavidBrown-hn4fl]

Save ruidoso

[@davidschlessinger9945]

poor grammar on the person who wrote the notice on your website. 1000 homes!

[@alexrodriguez-ud4bq]

Be weary of insurance scammer

[@donaldmccloud8463]

This HIGH PRESSURE Spray novel is so powerful full You can hold your bare hand in the spray ,!!!!!

[@user-yb9vk3dv6h]

👏👏👏👨‍🚒🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🚒🙏🙏🙏✝️