A wildfire sparked by a fatal medevac plane crash outside Ruidoso has rapidly expanded in rural New Mexico, prompting evacuations north of the Capitan Mountains and closures in the Lincoln National Forest. The crash killed four people, and federal investigator
For the third morning in a row, the fire was still moving like it meant to outrun the people trying to stop it.
The wildfire, growing fast after a fatal crash involving a small medical plane outside Ruidoso, has triggered evacuations for a rural area north of the Capitan Mountains and closures in the Lincoln National Forest, officials said Monday.
The plane had been en route from Roswell Air Center to Sierra Blanca Regional Airport when it crashed before dawn Thursday. killing the four people aboard.. The victims were identified as pilots Keelan Clark and Ali Kawsara with the company Generation Jets. and flight nurses Jamie Novick and Sarah Clark with Trans Aero MedEvac.
In a joint statement with Generation Jets, Matt Goertz, the vice president of Trans Aero MedEvac, said, “Our hearts remain with the families and loved ones navigating an unimaginable loss.”
Federal investigators are still working to understand what happened in the crash itself. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
The fire, however, has already become its own emergency.. It surged over the weekend as dry and windy conditions took hold. nearly doubling in size between Sunday and Monday morning to more than 19 square miles (50 square kilometers).. It has been burning out of control in a sparsely populated area. even as more than 600 firefighters have been deployed from the U.S.. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and several interagency Hotshot crews.
Adam Turner. a public information officer for the fire. said steep. rugged terrain has made it impossible for crews to fight directly.. “This is what firefighters call ‘mountain goat territory. ’” Turner said. adding that crews have been working instead to contain and steer the fire away from several evacuated cattle ranches to the northeast and the community of Arabella to the west.
An additional warning is making the stakes feel closer to the ground. A red flag warning remained in effect across southern New Mexico on Monday, with wind speeds forecast between 20-30 mph (32-50 kph).
New Mexico wildfire Ruidoso medical plane crash evacuation Lincoln National Forest Capitan Mountains FAA NTSB Trans Aero MedEvac Generation Jets Hotshot crews