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CNN Live Today

Some Residents Returning to Mountain Homes in New Mexico Find Those Homes Torched

Aired March 25, 2002 - 12:12   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: At this hour, residents returning to their mountain homes in New Mexico, some to find those homes torched.

Blazed that broke out on Saturday have destroyed 28 homes and a barn there, and meanwhile, investigators say humans caused the fires around one resort town.

Sean Callebs is there in New Mexico.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Crews have pretty well extinguished wild fires near the town of Ruidoso that destroyed 28 upscale homes.

Scores of tired firefighters are standing by to make sure hotspots don't flare up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're beginning to scale back the number of folks we have here and the amount of equipment we have here so we can get them ready for the next one.

CALLEBS: Anxious homeowners in the Kokopelli subdivision are going back in to get their first look at the damage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, some of them are going to find they've lost their homes. Most of them are going to be happy, I think, because the majority of the homes were saved.

CALLEBS: According to investigators, the brush fires were started by someone who dumped fireplace ashes outside. With brittle, dry conditions, the wind did the rest.

Southern New Mexico, firefighters say, has baked under an unrelenting drought the past five years. And they feel this could be an ominous start to the fire season.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This needs to be a wakeup call. For communities that haven't done everything that they should to this point, they need to.

People need to be careful. I mean this was, this was man-made here. CALLEBS: This region of New Mexico has been hit hard by wild fires over the past few years.

Right now the winds are relatively calm, and the situation is under control.

But history tells the firefighters, it wouldn't take much to rekindle a roaring blaze.

Sean Callebs, CNN, Ruidoso, New Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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