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CNN Live Today

Some New Mexico Residents go Home in Despair

Aired March 25, 2002 - 14:33   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: In south central New Mexico now, some residents are going home, some with sighs of relief and others going back in despair, seeing their homes in cinders after devastating wildfires this weekend. Sean Callebs is there in the town of Ruidoso, watching the latest. Sean, hello.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, ironically the weather here in this portion of New Mexico is absolutely beautiful at this hour. But it is also a very anxious time for firefighters, who are really spending this monitoring the number of hot spots all around this area.

The thick smoke that has been clinging to the horizon from a fire in the Hondo Valley area, where 12,000 acres burned this weekend, has dissipated over the past few hours. And as you mentioned, homeowners are going back into the Kokopelli subdivision -- that is the upscale area where two dozen homes were destroyed by a fire this weekend.

After a few frightening days, firefighters believe they do have the upper hand now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Crews have pretty well extinguished wildfires 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.

We're beginning to scale back the number of folks we have 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 homes were saved.

CALLEBS: According to investigators, the brush fires were started by someone who dumped fireplace ashes outside. With brittle, dry conditions, the win did the rest. Southern New Mexico, firefighters say, has baked under an unrelenting drought the past 5 years. And they feel this could be an ominous start to the fire season. GOV. GARY JOHNSON, NEW MEXICO: This needs to be a wake-up call. For communities that haven't everything that they should to this point, they need to. People need to be careful. I mean, this was man-made, here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLEBS: And that's the word coming out from the staging area, where firefighters are gathering. This area of southern New Mexico has been hit hard by wildfires over the past few years. But right now the wind is calm and the situation is under control. But crews know it would take very little to rekindle a roaring blaze in this area -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Sean Callebs, thanks. Watching from New Mexico. We'll keep our fingers crossed there for good weather.

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