Crews Continue Battling White Fire In Ruidoso Downs

The White Fire in Ruidoso Downs was 20% contained as of Monday evening, officials said.

Fire crews ruled out the chance it was Mother Nature?s doing.

Residents told ABC-7 they are angry because a human-caused fire also means it could have been prevented.

“Oh it just it embitters me really,? Joel Carothers, a Ruidoso resident said, as she looked at the burnt forest. ?Look at that…it?s all, it’s destroyed.”

Nearly 6,500 acres and five homes burned by what officials said is likely a case of negligence.

Carothers said all too often, she sees people flipping cigarettes with no regard for the extremely dry conditions.

Her once picturesque view is now stained black.

?It makes me ill,? Carothers said. ?It makes me ill because there’s no excuse for it.”

Much of the Gavilan Canyon area is charred. Residents said they have never seen anything like it.

“We could see the flames just bursting up trees like a stick of dynamite,” Jessie Yaksich, who lives within a quarter-mile of the fire, said.

The flames came incredibly close to the Ruidoso Downs Racetrack and Casino.

“It’s unbelievable, it came very very close and we’re lucky that we’re still here,” a woman at the racetrack said.

A 64-year-old woman who spent the night at a temporary shelter felt just as lucky. She said she has seen her share of fires in Ruidoso, but this is the first time she had to evacuate and grab her possessions in a moment?s notice.

“It was always somebody else’s territory, somebody else’s home, but when it hits you? it’s hard,? an evacuee said.

On the eastern end of Ruidoso Downs, white plumes of smoke fading into the sky were visible Monday. The calm winds, compared to Sunday?s 65 mile per hour gusts, appeared to help firefighters try to contain hot spots.

Officials have yet to determine what specifically sparked the fire.

“This is wrong, it’s just wrong for people to be so careless and thoughtless,? Carothers said.

This is only the beginning of fire season, officials said, and the White Fire is a perfect lesson for just how quickly a blaze can ignite and spread out of control.