POSTAL PATRON U.S. POSTAGE PAID MAILED FROM RUIDOSO, NM 88345 PERMIT NO. 9 PRESORT STANDARD
Racing duo makes mark at nationals, pg. 12
50 cents
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TuesdAY, JuNe 21, 2011 • w w w . r u i d o s o f r e e p r e s s . c o m • VOL. 3, NO. 25
Swallow Fire claims 10 acres, 9 homes By Eddie Farrell Editor
Smoldering hot spots kept the Swallow Fire from being considered fully contained until Sunday, but in the first four hours following 2:30 p.m. on June 16, the raging fire claimed nine homes in the Pinecliff addition of Ruidoso. Authorities are still looking for a “person of interest,” believed to be a homeless man that was encamped in the area and last seen wearing a white shirt and backpack and reportedly spotted fleeing the area about the time the flames started roaring up the canyon behind the Travelodge and KBob’s Steakhouse. Village Manager Debi Lee, in a live interview Friday morning on New Mexico in the Morning on Photos by Don Hudson AM 1490 and 105.1 W105, said if Above, reader Don Hudson shot this picthe fire “was human-caused, hope- ture of a neighbor’s home fully engulfed in fully we can have swift justice.” flames while his wife, Christine, sprayed Lee also proclaimed, “Lord down their own home with a water hose. help him, whoever it was, if (the At right, the heroes of the Swallow Fire fire) was human-caused.” were the 150 firefighters who responded The Swallow Fire, whipped by to the blaze within moments, limiting the high winds, climbed up the slope into the Pinecliff addition above losses to nine homes and 10 acres of land. the retail area, blackening 10 acres before being fully contained at 6:30 p.m. “I can’t say enough about our fire The speed of the fire’s assault was department,” Hudson said. “They did a matched only by the response of area fire- wonderful job. It was incredible.” fighters; Ruidoso firefighters, with only six The fire burned literally to the men on duty at the time of the first sighting of driveway of Ruidoso Free Press reporter smoke, immediately issued an “all call” alert, Eugene Heathman’s home (see Heathwhich resulted in approximately 150 firefight- man’s personal account on this page). Four SEAT aircraft, currently asers fighting the blaze within minutes. Ben Hudson, who lives at 110 Cliff signed to the Sierra Blanca Regional Court, said he watched as the fire roared to- Airport, were dropping 800-gallon ward his neighborhood and caught a nearby loads of slurry on the fire almost immediately, and a heavy-duty helicophouse aflame. “My wife was out there with a water ter, engaged in aerial reseeding efforts hose,” Hudson said, when firefighter arrived. See FIRE, pg. 8
Reporter
Alexias Torres, 27, and Jonathan Montoya, 18, both of Ruidoso, along with Melissa Mathis, 28, of Alamogordo, are accused of murder in connection with a fatal shooting of an Alamogordo woman early Wednesday at a Burger King in Alamogordo, said Detective Mark Esquero of the Alamogordo Department of Public Safety. APDS officers arrived at the scene to find 33-year-old Shavon Twitty with multiple gun shot wounds, said Esquero. The victim was then taken to Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo, where she later died, said Esquero. An investigation by APDS revealed that Torres, Montoya and Mathis were also involved in a burglary at a home in Alamogordo shortly before the shooting incident, according to Esquero. Torres, Montoya and Mathis have each been charged with one open count of first-degree murder, second-degree felony conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree shooting at or from a motor vehicle, third-degree conspiracy to commit a shooting at or from a motor vehicle, third-degree residential burglary and fourth-degree conspiracy to commit residential
See MURDER, pg. 4
14-year-old boy sparks crime wave
A community battles a vicious wildfire to save their homes Reporter
Fire engines raced by my office in the early afternoon during the onset of what is now named the Swallow Fire. I reside on Swallow Drive. After the first fire crews passed, even more were heading down Sudderth Drive, the office staff simultaneously muttered, “This can’t be good.” Immediately I joined the caravan of emergency crews. The further down Sudderth we travelled, the tighter the knot became in my stomach and throat upon approaching the Pinecliff subdivision. From the looks of the scene from below, the neighborhood was engulfed in flames, and likely my home. I circumvented the not yet secure roadblock by way of a little used side street to reach my home. The corner of Cliff Drive and Mockingbird was bedlam. An angry and relentless wall of flames towered over my good neighbors’ homes, less than 100 yards away,
Index
Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Community Calendar . . . . . . . . 2 Events Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
before completely engulfing them, one by one. The wind-fueled flames created a torrential wind of its own, marching up the street as neighbors who may not have given more than a friendly wave before now banded together with water hoses, shovels and rakes battling flare ups on property beyond the wall of flames and in an effort to save their homes. After screeching to a halt in my driveway, the first order of business was to retrieve my dog, pet turtles and hurriedly pack evacuation essentials learned from the now haunting White Fire. Midway through the process, the power went out. I now wondered if the fire was now encroaching upon my home. With the truck now packed, one close neighbor was distraught over not having renters insurance as the heavy smoke and embers forced our small brigade up the street then returning home again for another defiant bout with cer-
See SMOKE, pg. 8
Ruidoso pair charged in Alamogordo murder By Patrick Jason Rodriguez
Smoke in the air, slurry on the streets By Eugene Heathman
A property of
By Todd Fuqua Reporter
Todd Fuqua/Ruidoso Free Press
New Mexico State Police were among the many officials in the Pinecliff neighborhood attempting to hose down homes in the area. A home on Cliff Drive starts to burn in the Pinecliff addition of Ruidoso.
A 14-year-old boy kept the Ruidoso Police hopping over the week. The investigation began June 8, when officer Chris Bryant was called to a business on Center Street to investigate a breaking and entering. The investigation led police to a home on Texas Street, where they found someone had been siphoning gasoline from a vehicle parked near the residence. While police were investigating, the owner of a Midtown business drove up and asked if they “were investigating another burglary.” It turned out a business on Sudderth Drive, less than a block from Texas Street, had been broken into two days earlier, and was one of several businesses targeted in the area. It was during this investigation that the suspect walked up to the vehicle from between two buildings and “looked surprised”
See CRIME, pg. 4
More Swallow Fire photos, pg. 8
On the Town. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Police Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-13
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