Ruidoso fire: Immediate evacuation ordered in New Mexico village as map shows areas affected with major highways closed

An evacuation order has been ordered in Ruidoso after a fast growing wildfire tore through the New Mexico village on Monday. 

Am estimated 5,000 residents were urged to evacuate the village area due to to the 'South Fork Fire' in a post by the Village of Ruidoso X's, formerly Twitter, account. 

'IMMEDIATE MANDATORY "GO" EVACUATION FOR THE VILLAGE OF RUIDOSO - GO NOW!! An emergency mandatory GO evacuation is issued for the entire Village of Ruidoso from Sudderth/Mechem to Freedom Bloom at Big O Tire. Please do not try to gather belongings or protect your home. GO NOW,' the post said. 

Videos show how a wall of smoke fills the sky over the village. 

So far, both Highway 48 and Highway 70 at Apache Summit are closed, and the only available evacuation route is on Sudderth to Highway 70, leading out to Roswell. 

Map shows evacuation route from Ruidoso to Roswell, as Highways 48 and 70 at Apache Summit remain closed due to the wildfires

Evacuations have been ordered in the New Mexico village of Ruidoso amid wildfire

Images show the glow of the blaze engulfing the skies over Ruidoso

The fire is said to have started on Monday on the Mescalero Apache reservation

The city of Roswell, which is about 70 miles east of Ruidoso, has been accommodating evacuees. 

Hospital space has been cleared for patients who are being relocated from the Ruidoso hospital, and emergency shelters for people and livestock are being set up. 

Another clip that surfaced on X shows overnight scenes at a gas station around 30 minutes out from Ruidoso, where people were filmed fuelling up and setting up for the remainder of the night after the mandatory evacuation was ordered. 

The Village of Ruidoso Facebook group has been updating its residents on the fire, and is offering regular updates about where to seek shelter. 

According to the Village of Ruidoso Fire Department's website, the fire started on the Mescalero Apache reservation, around two to three miles from the village's limits. 

The fire department assured that the Smokey Bear Hot Shots, an elite Type 1 firefighting crew, were actively responding to the blaze and that an interagency dispatch had ordered an air attack to combat the fire. 

A Type 1 helicopter was also ordered to assist the others in water drops, and a large tanker and another Hot Shot crew were ordered for slurry drops. 

However, the fire spread to at least 3,000 acres by nightfall, according to CNN. 

A second blaze, the Salt Fire, is also burning on tribal land south of Ruidoso. 

Though Ruidoso has a population of around 8,000, according to a 2010 census, but as a resort community close to the slopes of Ski Apache, it attracts recreational tourists. The village estimates around 60% of its houses are vacation homes. 

Smoke plumes from the South Fork Fire rise above the tree line as the fire progresses from the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation to the Lincoln National Forest causing mandatory evacuations in Ruidoso, New Mexico on Monday

A USDA Forest Service firefighter and volunteers from surrounding towns coordinate to rescue animals trapped at a property in Cedar Creek, where the South Fork Fire prompted evacuations in Ruidoso, New Mexico,

People arrive at an emergency shelter where university and local officials set up cots and other Red Cross resources for those under evacuation orders

Charlie Barron holds his head in his hands after settling in at an emergency shelter where university and local officials set up cots and other Red Cross resources

Ruidoso is sat on the northern edge of the Mescalaro Apache Indian Reservation. 

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a post on X: 'My administration is in close contact with state, tribal and federal officials about the status of these fast-moving fires near Ruidoso, and we are quickly deploying as many resources as possible to protect people and property'. 

She also urged residents to 'remain calm and heed official instructions to help minimise risk'. 

'I want to thank all first responders and others who are battling these fires, managing the evacuation and providing crucial emergency services, including the town of Roswell which rapidly stood up shelter for evacuees. New Mexicans always pull together in times of need, and this time is no different', she added. 

The wildfires tearing across the New Mexico village are not the only ones in the west of the United States, as Los Angeles County currently battles a 15,000 acre blaze.