Wildfires in New Mexico have claimed another life, adding to its death toll. On Wednesday, a second death was reported following the wildfire that ravaged thousands of hectares of land and caused thousands of people to evacuate.
New Mexico State Police spokesperson Wilson Silver said that the two bodies were discovered on Tuesday, a day after the fire broke out and spread rapidly.
One of the two bodies was found inside a burned vehicle in the village of Ruidoso, the New York Times reported. The area had been ordered to evacuate on Monday, but it appears that one person did not make it out. The identity of the person has not yet been established.
The other person was found on the side of the road and was identified as 60-year-old Patrick Pearson. Wilson stated that they also found burn injuries on the body.
Approximately 8,000 people were ordered to evacuate in the area around Ruidoso following the Salt Fire and the South Fork Fire, which broke out at the Mescalero Apache Reservation on Monday morning. An investigation is ongoing to determine how the fires started.
Aside from causing the evacuation of thousands of individuals, the fires also destroyed around 1,400 structures. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said that it was believed that 500 homes were among the destroyed structures, describing the fires as "one of the most devastating" in the history of New Mexico, NBC News reported.
The state Forestry Division revealed that around 16,335 acres were burned by the South Fork Fire, while 7,071 acres were burned by the Salt Fire.
Grisham referred to the wildfires as a crisis and has already declared a state of emergency in the affected area. The declaration will pave the way for greater aid. She has also vowed that resources were on the way to assist.
On Wednesday, rain was detected in the area, but along with it came flash floods from burn scar runoffs, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
Grisham said that despite the change in weather, the area was still "not out of the woods."
