Hail damages properties, vehicles in Las Cruces

Residents are picking up the pieces a day after nickel-sized hail and nearly an inch of rain pummeled the City of the Crosses.

An office building off Lohman Avenue had significant roof damage. Numerous farms in the Fairacres area west of Las Cruces also had crop damage.

Jay Hill, co-owner or Hill Farms, told ABC-7 an onion farm just north of him got hit really hard.

Hill said the crops were just about ready to harvest after nine months. He estimates clean up, along with what was lost, can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Most of these crops are growing for 8-9 months and, at least in New Mexico, we don’t have insurance to cover any of those kind of crops,” Hill said. “It’s sickening. Not only is it extremely hard to cover financially, just even the emotional toll. Farmers, we take a lot of pride in what we produce and to have it completely wiped out before we get to harvest it it’s pretty detrimental to a farm.”

There were also dinged up cars and shredded trees a day later at New Mexico State University. The Las Cruces Police Department says they responded to a handful of fender-benders.There were no significant accidents according to the sheriff’s office and fire department.