Residents of the mountain village of Ruidoso in southern New Mexico fled their homes under evacuation orders with little time to rescue belongings as fast-moving wildfires bore down on the town of 7,000 residents.
Traffic clogged downtown streets of the normally pastoral village and summer vacation destination for hours Monday as smoke darkened the evening sky and 100-foot (30-meter) flames climbed a ridgeline. By Tuesday morning, city webcams showed a deserted main street with smoke still wafting in the sky.
