Downpour brings mudslides to Alamogordo, Ruidoso

A low lying portion of Gavilan Canyon Road in Ruidoso was closed Monday afternoon due to heavy rains near the McBride Fire burn scar.

The road remained closed to motorists Tuesday morning while Lincoln County road crews bladed it.

Crews waited until daylight to work on the road so as not to hit gas lines, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said in a post to its Facebook page on July 26.

More:How to prepare for monsoon flooding in New Mexico post-fire areas

The McBride Fire began on April 12 near Gavilan Canyon Road in Ruidoso and spread into the Lincoln National Forest, where it burned 6,159 acres, destroyed more than 200 homes and left two people dead.

Nogal Canyon Fire started on April 12, burned 412 acres, destroyed six primary residences and eight outbuildings and was caused by a lightning strike.

The National Weather Service in Albuquerque issued a thunderstorm forecast July 26 in burn scar areas around New Mexico.

McBride Fire and Nogal Canyon Fire were both in Lincoln County and both areas have a moderate chance through Saturday, July 30 for additional thunderstorms. The NWS said the storms are moving 5 to 15 miles per hour in a northerly or northwesterly direction depending on the day.

Summer rainstorms in Otero and Lincoln Counties on Sunday and Monday brought mudslides and flooding to some areas including on the McBride Fire burn scar.

Alamogordo flooding

On July 24, a cloudburst woke up many Alamogordans. However, minimal damage was reported from that storm.

Later that day, a late afternoon downpour caused flooding on North Florida Avenue and Scenic Drive near New Mexico State University-Alamogordo and Fairgrounds Road near Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center.

By Monday morning, Fairgrounds Road was still covered in mud in places, but Scenic Road was more passable.

The City of Alamogordo has sandbags available to Alamogordo residents. The sandbags can be picked up between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the City of Alamogordo Public Works Yard, 2600 North Florida Avenue. Alamogordo residents are allowed to pick up 10 sandbags at a time.

Nicole Maxwell can be contacted by email at nmaxwell@alamogordonews.com, by phone at 575-415-6605 or on Twitter at @nicmaxreporter.

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