Ruidoso’s river & trees saved in midtown; tourism up on 1 year anniversary of Wildfires
ABC-7 anchor Paul Cicala spent several days covering the devastation caused by those fires, and is in Ruidoso today to report tonight live in the 4, 5 & 6 p.m. newscasts & as the popular tourist town continues its recovery. He'll also have an in-depth report from Ruidoso on ABC-7 at 10 p.m.
RUIDOSO, NM (KVIA) -- It's a celebration of recovery for Ruidoso residents today, June 17th, on the one-year anniversary of the South Fork Fire. With the tourist town in the heart of Mescalero Apache land losing out on its biggest tourism season last summer, Ruidoso is on the rebound.
Kerry Gladden, the public spokeswoman for the Village of Ruidoso, said that record numbers visited the town over the Memorial Day weekend.
"We've seen this town really come together," said Gladden, who estimates that visitations were up 5 percent over the Memorial Day weekend.
"July and August last year, were very difficult for our businesses," said Gladden from her midtown office.
However, she says, businesses and tourism in Ruidoso began to pick up during the November and December holidays.
"The Christmas break (was packed), and we've just continued to see a steady climb," said Gladden.
Gladden says that we are just at a four percent decline in business from previous years, however, that matches the national levels during the recent economy woes in the USA.
However, over Memorial Day weekend, "Our foot traffic was actually up five percent from what it was in Memorial Day Weekend of last year, which was before the fires."
Luckily, most of midtown was spared of the worst damage - That includes the pine trees along the main strip, and the neighboring river.
Tim Duckworth is the Executive Director for Ruidoso Midtown Association, and told Paul Cicala:
"We are open, and just ready to take on the world now."
Paul Cicala will air this story, and several others on ABC-7 at 4, 5, 6 and 10 p.m. from Ruidoso, NM during the one-year anniversary of the start of the wildfires.
