A Virtual Public Meeting will be held tonight at 6 pm on Facebook. Questions can be submitted in advance by email or through Facebook messaging. Last night, evacuations were lifted for the Moon Mountain Area. Expect increased traffic as residents return to their homes. We will no longer provide an evening update in this format starting today. Any notable activity will be posted on Facebook and InciWeb.

McBride Fire - April 15, 2022 Evening Update Acres: Today, the fire was active within the fire’s perimeter near Ruidoso Middle School. Unburned pockets of ponderosa pine were ignited, putting up lots of black smoke. Crews and helicopters worked together to keep the fire within control lines. A Virtual Public Meeting will be held Saturday at 6pm on Facebook. […]

Officials are partially lifting evacuation orders for Ruidoso residents who live near the McBride Fire which has been burning since April 12, 2022. The re-entry plan as of April 15, 2022, at 7:00 pm is as follows […]

Watch today's LIVE operational broadcast from the McBride and Nogal Fires by Field Operations Chief Rocky Gilbert.

Good Morning from the Incident Command Post for the McBride Fire and the Nogal Canyon Fire. The photos were taken earlier today, as firefighters prepared to head out to their assignments on both fires. We've received additional resources from around the region to join the firefighting effort. A Red Flag warning has been issued for this afternoon. That's due to extremely dry conditions, along with warmer temperatures and increasing winds. We'll have a video Operations Briefing for you later this morning hosted on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/McBrideFire2022

McBride Fire – April 15, 2022 Morning Update: A Public Meeting will be held on Facebook Saturday evening at 6:00 PM. Today firefighters will continue efforts to extinguish and mop up hotspots on the southwest section of the fire. Crews have been working to ensure that the area will be safe for utility work restoration and to ensure residents can return as soon as possible. Dozers and ground crews will continue to work on scouting and constructing line along the rugged north/northeast edge of the fire. Hotshot crews will focus on the east and southeast sides of the fire to construct and secure lines to keep the fire from making runs back towards the Village. Fire activity is expected to increase today due to warmer drier weather and gusty winds.

Stay Aware. This situational awareness mapping tool is a near real-time wildfire mapping system. Track the McBride Fire Map at https://maps.nwcg.gov/sa/#/%3F/%3F/33.3831/-105.6185/12

CURRENT STATUS: PNM crews were able to safely restore power for another few hundred customers a short time ago. There are still about 4,800 customers we're working hard to restore. We expect 3,000-4,000 more customers to be restored by the end of today. Crews were able to safely restore power to Walmart and are working to restore Albertsons today as well. We have about 60 linemen working throughout Ruidoso, including in various canyons, the upper canyon, Cedar Creek Drive, the upper end of Ski Run Canyon, in the core part of town, and the area along Sudderth in the main business district towards Mechem.

Thank you for the outpouring of support for our community during this difficult time! Donations are greatly appreciated but we are being overwhelmed with the physical donation of items. If you’d like to make a monetary donation or are in need of assistance, please contact the Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce at 575-257-7395. If you have been evacuated, please contact the Red Cross at the Ruidoso Convention Center for water, food, and any necessary supplies.

engine crews working in the southwest area of the fire near the point of origin will focus on suppressing hotspots to prevent further damage to private property. Along the northwest edge of the fire crews will go direct, constructing handline to prevent the fire spread to additional homes in the area. On the east side of Gavilan Canyon, in addition to structural protection, a hotshot crew will work to suppress fire and control fire progression. Crews and dozers will focus on constructing line along open edges of the fire to prevent fire from spreading south of Gavilan and keep it from progressing to Paradise Canyon. The fire continues to spread to the northeast and fire activity is expected to increase this afternoon due to increasingly gusty winds.

CURRENT FIRE CONDITIONS: 5,736 Current Acreage. 0% Containment. 200+Primary Resident Structures Lost or Damaged. 2 Fatalities. A Type 1 Incident Management Team has been brought in and taken over the McBride and Nogal Canyon Fires. A full update will be provided later this morning. Official updates will continue to be posted on this website and the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/McBrideFire2022.

PNM crews were able to make more headway overnight and restored power for thousands more customers. Power restoration efforts continue for the remaining 5,000 customers. The Snowcap area experienced heavy damage. Crews will be patrolling underground, making needed repairs, then reenergizing once safe to do so. If you need to charge your medical devices or cell phones, please seek the evacuation center at the convention center or the Lincoln County Medical Center for medical emergencies. Our crews are first responders, going in when everyone has to head out. These 60 crew members from this morning's safety briefing are working through the terrain, fallen trees, broken powerlines, damaged power poles, and more. We know how important power is to you and we will not stop until everyone is restored. Next update will be shortly after 11AM. #ruidosonewmexic

RUIDOSO OUTAGE UPDATE: Yesterday, there were approximately 18,000 customers without power. As of right now, there are about 9,500 customers still to be restored. Additional crews were called in and have been working to get power safely restored for customers in Ruidoso. The majority of the damage our crews are seeing is not due to the fire, rather it’s been due to the 75-90MPH winds the area experienced yesterday. The decision to shut off power yesterday was a difficult but very necessary decision made out of an abundance of caution to first responders and customers in Ruidoso.

CURRENT FIRE SITUATION: Crews are working on multiple fronts on point protection and to secure structures. Crews in the Moon Mountain area continue to try to hold the fire on the north side of Moon Mountain and south of Gavilan and north of Paradise Canyon with a dozer line to keep it from progressing into Paradise Canyon and Meander. In the area of Homestead, Gavilan Canyon and Fawn Ridge, crews are working point protection and securing structures and working to connect and constructing fire line to control fire progress. In the lower Eagle Creek area, fire impacted multiple structures, and crews are working on point protection. The Fire is currently moving down Eagle Ridge, behind Kokopelli and Outlaw. It is heading towards Elk Valley, south of the Sierra Blanca Regional Airport. The fire continues to spread to the northeast.

On Wednesday afternoon the fire jumped Gavilan Canyon Road leading to the evacuation of all of Gavilan Canyon East behind the McDonald’s Restaurant. Mandatory evacuations remain in place in the following areas: Moon Mountain Area: High Loop, Lupin, Starlight etc. Gavilan Canyon: From Highway 70 to Lower Eagle Creek.. East of Hull: McBride, Snowcap, Timberline, Fawn Ridge, etc.Homestead Acres/Lower Eagle Creek. Rancho Ruidoso Valley Estates, Deer Valley, Deer Park, and Alto East of Flute Player Please evacuate to the Ruidoso Convention Center if you live in those areas. More evacuations are possible.

Learn ways to donate, volunteer, and receive evacuation support during the ongoing crises of the McBride and Nogal Canyon fires. Thank you!

CURRENT FIRE SITUATION: Mandatory evacuations remain in place in the following areas: Moon Mountain Area: High Loop, Lupin, Starlight etc.; Gavilan Canyon: From Meander to Lower Eagle Creek; East of Hull: McBride, Snowcap, Timberline, Fawn Ridge etc.; Homestead Acres/Lower Eagle Creek; Rancho Ruidoso Valley Estates, Deer Valley, Deer Park, and Alto East of Flute Player

CURRENT FIRE SITUATION: Crews are working on multiple fronts on point protection and to secure structures. Crews in the Moon Mountain area were able to hold the ridge south of Gavilan and north of Paradise Canyon with a dozer line to keep it from progressing into Paradise Canyon and Meander. In the area of Homestead, Gavilan Canyon and Fawn Ridge, crews are working on point protection and securing structures and working to connect and constructing fire line to control fire progress. In the lower Eagle Creek area, fire impacted multiple structures, and crews are working on point protection. Eagle Ridge is the furthest point the fire has reached. The fire continues to spread to the northeast. Air tactical support was not able to fly on Tuesday due to extreme 60+ mph winds. Air tankers are available and will be used when and where possible. Fire activity is expected to increase this afternoon as temperatures and winds increase.

MCBRIDE FIRE UPDATE at 9:00 p.m.: Attached is the current fire map. The fire remains at 0% containment. 150+ structures and houses have been lost and 4,132 acres have burned. We continue to experience power outages in the area. At this time we don't have an estimated time for the power to be restored.

MCBRIDE FIRE UPDATE at 7:00 p.m.: An air attack update has decreased the estimated acreage to 3,000. At this time 150 homes and structures have been lost. This is an active fire and is at 0% contained.

A mandatory evacuation notice is in order