Blue 2 Fire grows, residents share concerns

Lina PortmanMay 25, 2024

0 2 minutes read

“We've been adding personnel to this fire for days,” said Margo Whitt of the U.S. Forest Service in New Mexico. “They come from far away, so it sometimes takes a long time to get staff here.” With the fire growing, the strategy is to monitor the area as much as possible and determine what options they have to fight the fire. Friday evening, a town hall was held in the town of Ruidoso to inform the public and address their concerns. “You know, when you see smoke above the houses, you kind of wonder what's going on and it's fire season,” Alan Lefebrve said. “It’s going to happen and you just have to be vigilant, be aware of it and be ready to go,” Lefebrve said. Firefighters and crews aim to monitor which direction the fire will spread if it grows. They also want to stop flames in any areas that are at risk of burning because the landscape poses a challenge for firefighting. “If you think about 90 degrees, we're talking about a slope like that and if you've ever faced a With a chainsaw, you don't want to do that, you can't do that. So that's the terrain in where we are. You can't do that,” Whitt said. Whitt says the fire will likely grow before more fire crews arrive. arrive. However, she makes a promise to the community. “Our goal is to keep the public informed every step of the way in this process,” Whitt said.

RUIDOSO, New Mexico —

“We've been adding personnel to this fire for days,” said Margo Whitt of the U.S. Forest Service in New Mexico. “They come from far away, so it sometimes takes a long time to get staff here.”

As the fire grows, the strategy is to monitor the area as much as possible and determine what options they have to fight the fire. Friday evening, a public meeting was held in the town of Ruidoso to inform the public and address their concerns.

“You know when you see smoke above houses you kind of wonder what's going on and it's fire season,” Alan Lefebrve said.

For those who live in the area, they say this is normal, even with their concerns.

“It’s going to happen and you just have to be diligent, be aware of it and be ready to go,” Lefebrve said.

Firefighters and crews aim to monitor which direction the fire will spread if it gets worse. They also want to stop flames in any areas that are at risk of burning because the landscape poses a challenge for firefighting.

“If you think about 90 degrees, we're talking about a slope like that and if you've ever handled a chainsaw, you don't want to do that, you can't do that. So that's the terrain in which we we find. You can't people go there, period,” Whitt said.

Whitt says the fire will likely grow before more fire crews arrive. However, she makes a promise to the community.

“Our goal is to keep the public informed every step of the way in this process,” Whitt said.