Officials with the Village of Ruidoso said the fire that burned for over two days was 60% contained as of Wednesday night.
Lincoln County Sheriff Robert Shepperd said he believed the fire was manmade.
“They feel that arson could be potentially the cause of this fire. It is human caused- it was not caused by lightning or any natural situation,” said Rico Smith, Public Information Officer for Moon Mountain Fire.
Lubbock resident Larry Moss, who owns a home with his wife near where the fire was, said he was concerned about high winds that could pose problems for firefighters.
“My main concern right now is watching the weather and waiting for the wind and as long as the wind stays where it is at, it’s not in a bad location as fires go. But if it changes directions and blows back towards town we will certainty get more concerned,” Moss said.
Portions of the roads near Moon Mountain were closed early in the week. Classes were canceled at Ruidoso High School Tuesday and Wednesday. The fire came within a few hundred feet of the campus. No damage was done to the school, and classes were expected to resume Thursday.
Ruidoso Village Manager Debi Lee said light rain Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, and favorable wind swells, assisted firefighters in containing the burn areas.
Smith said crews would monitor certain burn areas overnight.
“The crews that are out there right now are continuing to mop up and just maintain the lines that have been put in. That’s just extinguishing any smokes any fire, anything that could potentially ignite or re-ignite,” he said.
Officials held a meeting Wednesday night to explain to the community the process behind fighting the fire the way crews did, and to answer any questions residents had.
Many residents, like Moss, were encouraged to surround their homes with “defensible space” like gravel and rocks, and remove any brush and grass to avoid embers from sparking materials near homes.
“You’re still worried about the weather when you have a fire like is going on up there right now, but you do everything you can to be prepared and you are at the mercy of nature after that,” Moss said.
This fire has come at a time where dry conditions across parts of New Mexico and West Texas have become particularly flammable. High wind speeds carry flames and debris during the spring and summer, despite the moisture from rain and snow last year.
“We get a lot of wind, throughout not only the spring but also the summer. So when it’s dry and the weather is nice with sun, There’s always a potential for fire here. And as we move into the summertime period, that potential for fire gets even higher,” Smith added.
