ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Officials reported Monday that a rapidly expanding wildfire ignited by a deadly medical aircraft crash near Ruidoso, New Mexico, has forced evacuations in a rural region north of the Capitan Mountains and led to closures within the Lincoln National Forest.
The aircraft was traveling from Roswell Air Center to Sierra Blanca Regional Airport when it went down in the early morning hours Thursday, claiming the lives of all four individuals on board. The victims have been named as pilots Keelan Clark and Ali Kawsara from Generation Jets, along with flight nurses Jamie Novick and Sarah Clark from Trans Aero MedEvac.
“Our hearts remain with the families and loved ones navigating an unimaginable loss,” Matt Goertz, vice president of Trans Aero MedEvac, said in a joint statement with Generation Jets.
Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are conducting investigations into the crash.
The blaze expanded dramatically throughout the weekend due to arid and gusty conditions, growing to nearly twice its size from Sunday to Monday morning, now covering more than 19 square miles (50 square kilometers). The fire remains uncontained in a lightly populated region, despite efforts from over 600 firefighters representing the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and multiple interagency Hotshot crews.
Adam Turner, a public information officer for the fire, explained that the challenging, mountainous landscape has prevented crews from directly attacking the flames.
“This is what firefighters call ‘mountain goat territory,’” said Turner, noting that crews were focusing instead on containment efforts and directing the fire away from evacuated cattle ranches to the northeast and the community of Arabella to the west.
Southern New Mexico remained under a red flag warning Monday, with anticipated wind speeds of 20-30 mph (32-50 kph).
