Former El Pasoan who lost cabin in Ruidoso Fires is rebuilding

ABC-7 anchor Paul Cicala spent several days covering the devastation caused by those fires, and spent the anniversary of the fires in Ruidoso doing special reports that can be found HERE.

RUIDOSO, NM (KVIA) --After thousands of acres of land were scorched in and around Ruidoso with a fire that began one year ago today (June 17, 2024), the road to recovery continues in this tourist town popular to El Pasoans.

One longtime El Pasoan, Eric Huseby, who depends on renting out his cabins to pay the bills, continues with the recovery process.

Eric Huseby gave ABC-7 anchor Paul Cicala a tour of the property that used to contain his most prized cabin.

As he sighed outload, overlooking the spot where the driveway of his cabin used to be, Huseby opened up to Cicala:  "We decided eventually that we're not going to be able to rebuild any time soon. It looks like a war zone still," said Huseby.

He's the owner of Antler Cabins, which he rents out.

"We decided eventually that we're not going to be able to rebuild any time soon. It looks like a war zone still," said Huseby.

Huseby has used the insurance money to purchase another rental cabin in Ruidoso. He spent eight months fixing it up, and getting it code compliant by sawing down some of the trees himself.

"We've replaced floors, we've bought paint by five gallon buckets, and just got the right furniture for the space," said Huseby, "I wouldn't say Ruidoso is back, it was never gone. The other neighborhoods that are gone will take a long time to come back, I don't know if I'll ever live to see it."

It's been a difficult comeback for Huseby, with everything completely charred away from his original cabin, except for a few metal signs that say "Antler Mountain Lodge".

Now, in Huseby's new rental cabin, you can find the same signs hanging on the wall, with a small exhibit of the wildfires and of his old cabin.

"It was a place we had a lot of good memories at," said Huseby.

Paul Cicala aired several special repots in Ruidoso on June 17, 2024. You can find them here: https://kvia.com/search-results/?q=ruidoso+wildfire