3 dead as flash flooding hits mountain village of Ruidoso in New Mexico,
officials say
[July 09, 2025]
By MORGAN LEE and THOMAS PEIPERT
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Three people have died in a mountain village in
southern New Mexico that is a popular summer retreat after monsoon rains
triggered flash flooding that was so intense an entire house was swept
downstream, officials said.
A man and two children were swept away Tuesday by floodwaters, the
village of Ruidoso said in a statement.
Three people earlier had been reported missing, but it wasn't
immediately clear early Wednesday whether those were the same three who
died.
Emergency crews carried out at least 85 swift water rescues in the
Ruidoso area, including of people who were trapped in their homes and
cars, said Danielle Silva of the New Mexico Department of Homeland
Security and Emergency Management.
The water had receded by Tuesday night and search and rescue and swift
water rescue teams were scouring the town for the missing people, while
public works crews cleared debris from the roadways. Some cars were left
stranded in the mud.
Two National Guard rescue teams and several local teams already were in
the area when the flooding began, Silva said, and more Guard teams were
expected.
The floods came just days after flash floods in Texas killed over 100
people and left more than 160 people missing.
In New Mexico, officials urged residents to seek higher ground Tuesday
afternoon as the waters of the Rio Ruidoso rose nearly 19 feet (2.7
meters) in a matter of minutes amid heavy rainfall. The National Weather
Service issued flood warnings in the area, which was stripped of
vegetation by recent wildfires.
A weather service flood gauge and companion video camera showed churning
waters of the Rio Ruidoso surge over the river’s banks into surrounding
forest. Streets and bridges were closed in response.
Kaitlyn Carpenter, an artist in Ruidoso, was riding her motorcycle
through town Tuesday afternoon when the storm started to pick up, and
she sought shelter at the riverside Downshift Brewing Company with about
50 other people. She started to film debris rushing down the Rio Ruidoso
when she spotted a house float by with a familiar turquoise door. It
belonged to the family of one of her best friends.
Her friend’s family was not in the house and is safe, she said.
“I’ve been in that house and have memories in that house, so seeing it
come down the river was just pretty heartbreaking,” Carpenter said. “I
just couldn’t believe it.”
During a radio address Tuesday night, Ruidoso Mayor Lynn D. Crawford
encouraged residents to call an emergency line if their loved ones or
neighbors were missing. He also said there were reports of dead horses
near the town’s horse racing track
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In this image taken from video, a house is carried away by flash
flooding behind a house in Ruidoso, N.M., Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Kaitlyn
Carpenter via AP)
“We knew that we were going to have floods ... and this one hit us
harder than what we were expecting,” Ruidoso Mayor Lynn D. Crawford
said.
The area has been especially vulnerable to flooding since the summer
of 2024, when the South Fork and Salt fires raced across tinder-dry
forest and destroyed an estimated 1,400 homes and structures.
Residents were forced to flee a wall of flames, only to grapple with
intense flooding later that summer.
“We know that the water levels seemed to be higher than they were
last summer,” Silva said. “It is a significant amount of water
flowing throughout, some of it in new areas that didn’t flood last
year.”
Matt DeMaria, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in
Albuquerque, said storms formed in the early afternoon over terrain
that was scorched last year by wildfire. The burn scar was unable to
absorb a lot of the rain, as water quickly ran downhill into the
river.
Preliminary measurements show the Rio Ruidoso crested at more than
20 feet (6 meters) — a record high if confirmed — and was receding
Tuesday evening.
Three shelters opened in the Ruidoso area for people who could not
return home.
Cory State, who works at the Downshift Brewing Company, welcomed in
dozens of residents as the river surged and hail pelted the windows.
The house floating by was “just one of the many devastating things
about today,” he said.
The sight brought back painful memories for Carpenter, whose art
studio was swept away during a flood last year. Outside, the air
smelled of gasoline, and loud crashes could be heard as the river
knocked down trees in its path.
“It’s pretty terrifying,” she said.
___
Peipert reported from Denver. Associated Press writers Matt Brown in
Denver, Hallie Golden in Seattle, Susan Montoya Bryan in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City
contributed to this report.
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