7-22-2024 11:16am

Damages Mount and Reprecussions of Ruidoso Fires and Floods Mount

Chris Edwards Editor

Life in Ruidoso is far from normalized after the fires and now with flooding as almost every weekend the losses of property, jobs and financial losses mount.

The FBI continues its investigations into the cause of the fires around Ruidoso, a search warrent was issued concerning a couple suspected of starting the Salt Fire and suspected of multiple others the damages of the fires and flooding grows.

Ruidoso Downs Race Track made an agreement with New Mexico state racing officials and Downs of Albuquerque Owner Paul Blachard to move the remainder of the 2024 racing meet to Albuquerque.

“We are grateful to Chairman Billy Smith and Mr. Blanchard for working with us,” General Manager Rick Baugh said. “We are all working in coordination to do what is best for the New Mexico racing industry.”

Ruidoso Downs was forced to cancel five races Saturday, July 20, and the entire race card Sunday, July 21, when flash flooding caused major damage to the race track and two bridges located near the entrance of the facility and in the barn area. The race track and casino are currently closed until temporary bridges are put in place.

“The safety of our customers, employees and animals are most important,” Baugh said. “Ruidoso Downs will take the necessary steps over the course of the offseason to make the necessary repairs. We look forward to our visitors coming back in 2025.”

Final preparations to continue the race meeting including when the first races will be held in Albuquerque are being finalized.

Baugh said that the New Mexico-bred Horse Sale scheduled for August 9-10 with the All American Futurity, Derby and Oaks trials, and the Ruidoso Downs Select Sale and All American Futurity, Derby, Oaks and Gold Cup scheduled for Labor Day weekend, will also move to Albuquerque. Plans are for the horse sales to be held in Tingley Coliseum.

“We understand the tremendous economic impact of moving the remander of the racing season will have on the Ruidoso community,” Baugh said. “We are left with little choice based on the current condition of our track, bridges and barn area. We have suffered a setback but are determined to build back Ruidoso Downs and make it a beautiful facility and return racing here in 2025.”

The repeated flash flooding has affected numerous businesses is the gateway area of Ruidoso and Ruidoso Downs as well as other areas of the village. Mobile Home and RV Parks along U.S. Hwy. 70 entering town have vehicles, campers and mobile homes strewn about while several businesses affected by the first rounds of flooding are now heavily sandbagged to endure the monsoon season and future threat.

The well know Ruidoso Emporium was devastated by the flooding and it impacts not only the employees and manager but over 30 partner small business vendors that are now devastated by the floods. The emporium survived the South Fork and Salt Fires, which burned over 1,400 structures, but it was hit hard by flooding that came directly after as a result of the fire scar.

All of the mud, burned trees, and various debris from the Salt Fire swiftly moved through the entire building, and burst out the front as the flooding has done through many homes and businesses around the area.

Just 30 days after President Biden declared a major disaster for the state of New Mexico following the South Fork and Salt Fires and flooding that began on June 17, more than $6 million in federal assistance has been approved by FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to support disaster recovery.

“FEMA and our federal partners are working closely with the state of New Mexico to provide help in recovery for all its affected residents as quickly as possible,” said Robert M. Patterson Jr., FEMA’s Federal Coordinating Officer for New Mexico. “Federal assistance is just one part of the whole community effort to support New Mexico’s recovery from last month’s fires and floods,” he added.

As of July 19, New Mexico’s recovery assistance includes:

More than $3 million in grants awarded to eligible homeowners and renters in Lincoln, Otero, Rio Arriba and San Juan counties and the Mescalero Apache Reservation. These grants help pay for eligible losses and disaster-related damage, including:

More than $1.7 million in FEMA housing grants to help pay for home repair, home replacement and rental assistance for temporary housing.
More than $1.3 million in grants to help pay for personal property replacement and other serious disaster-related needs — such as moving and storage fees, transportation, childcare, and medical and dental expenses.

SBA

More than $3 million in long-term, low-interest disaster loans from SBA has been approved and are available to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and non-profit organizations to repair, rebuild or replace disaster-damaged physical property and to cover economic injury from the fires and flooding.

SBA opened a Business Recovery Center (BRC) to help applicants to complete their disaster loan applications. It is located inside the Ruidoso Public Library (Archive Room), 107 Kansas City Road, Ruidoso. The BRC is open Mondays – Fridays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. No appointment is needed.

SBA has the largest source of funds to help private property owners pay for disaster losses not covered by insurance or other recoveries. The program covers deductibles and increased cost of compliance after a disaster. Survivors should not wait for an insurance settlement before submitting an SBA loan application.

Applicants may apply at https://lending.sba.gov. Business owners also may apply in-person by visiting SBA Business Recovery Center at the Ruidoso Public Library. The deadline to apply to SBA for property damage is Aug. 19, 2024. The deadline to apply for economic injury is March 20, 2025.

New Mexicans who suffered damage from the wildfires and flooding may apply for help from both FEMA and SBA at the same time.

FEMA on the Ground

FEMA response staff was on site in southern New Mexico within hours of the first fire alarm. To date more than 300 FEMA personnel have deployed to this disaster — in-person and virtually — to execute disaster assistance and recovery programs in partnership with the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (NMDHSEM).

The state and FEMA have staffed and operated Disaster Recovery Centers in Roswell,Ruidoso and the Mescalero Apache Reservation, which have provided face-to-face assistance to nearly 1,000 homeowners, renters and their families. To find the closest center to you, visit fema.gov/drc.

FEMA’s Volunteer Agency Liaisons (VALs) are operating four donation centers and points of distribution in areas affected by the fires and floods. In addition, about 113,000 immediate relief supplies have been donated and distributed to impacted residents from the Roswell Armory, and more than 1,969 individual volunteers from VOAD and the American Red Cross have contributed more than 52,911 hoursto the recovery.

Public Assistance

FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) program reimburses the state, counties, local governments, tribes, and certain private nonprofits (including houses of worship) for eligible costs of disaster-related debris removal, emergency protective measures and repair and replacement of storm-damaged facilities, such as roads, bridges, public utilities, including water treatment and electrical plants, government buildings and parks. PA is available, on a cost -sharing basis, in all five designated areas: Lincoln, Otero, Rio Arriba and San Juan counties and the Mescalero Apache Reservation.

How to Apply for FEMA Disaster Assistance

The first step for individuals and households to receive assistance is to apply to FEMA for federal assistance. There are no costs involved to apply for, or receive, FEMA assistance. There are four ways to apply:

Go online to disasterassistance.gov/
Download the FEMA App for mobile devices at fema.gov/about/news-multimedia/mobile-products
Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. MT. Help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service, such as video relay (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA your number for that service.
Visit a Disaster Recovery Center operated by the state of New Mexico and FEMA. For location and hours, visit fema.gov/drc

For an accessible video on how to apply for assistance, visit youtube.com/watch= WZGpWI2RCNw.

The deadline to apply for FEMA assistance is Aug. 19, 2024.

For more information about FEMA’s Individual Assistance program, visit  www.fema.gov/assistance/individual