The ICA Help Your Neighbor program on Thursday made a $100,000 donation to Ruidoso, New Mexico, wildfire disaster relief efforts.
The donation was made on behalf of all ICA team members, “especially those of our MCM Eleganté Lodge & Resort in Ruidoso,” a news release from ICA detailed.
John Bushman, CEO of ICA, said it’s a family community and many in the Permian Basin have homes or vacation homes there. “We all love Ruidoso…We are helping those folks in Ruidoso with the help your neighbor program. We have a hotel there. This is not going to our hotel but to show we value all of the residents there. We want to contribute to their well-being.”
Bushman said the check will be presented by the Ruidoso hotel general manager this week and the money will be wired immediately rather than days down the road. “We are thankful for people of Odessa Midland and all their help they may give.”
He said donors can drop a donation by the mall office, the Elegante, Fundome or ICA Corporate at 700 North Grant Street suite 600, Make it out to the Ruidoso New Mexico Fire Relief Fund.
The wildfires have devastated the Ruidoso area. A second person was confirmed dead as a result of the South Fork Fire and the Salt Fire in Ruidoso, New Mexico, on Wednesday, KTSM.com reported.
New Mexico State Police identified one of the victims as Patrick Pearson, 60, who was found dead near the Swiss Chalet Motel, located at 1451 N Mechem Road on Tuesday, June 18. He was found on the side of the road.
State Police say Pearson sustained numerous burns from the fire and died as a result of his injuries.
“We are at a loss for words, and we are so heartbroken that this happened,” family friend Christiana Alvarez told KTSM.
State Police also confirmed a second death, stating that they found a person in the driver’s seat of a burned vehicle on Ranier Road during the South Fork Fire just before noon on Tuesday in Ruidoso.
State Police say the person is unidentified at this time, due to the person’s condition being skeletal remains. “No legible identification documents were located in the burned vehicle,” State Police said.
The South Fork Fire was last estimated to be at 16,335 acres with zero percent containment. The Salt Fire is estimated at 7,071 acres also with 0 percent containment, according to the New Mexico Forestry Division.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency on Tuesday for Lincoln County and the Mescalero Apache Reservation due to the wildfires and also deployed National Guard troops to the area, according to her office.
Grisham, representatives Gabe Vasquez and Melanie Stansbury, along with Mescalero tribal officials and other stakeholders were briefed by Otero County officials on the relief status of the wildfires on Wednesday.
State, local leaders briefed on firefighting progress for Ruidoso wildfires.
The representatives said they anticipate evacuations and relief efforts to span across a timeline of weeks as the community reels from the devastation.
In addition to threats from the wildfires, the National Weather Service also issued Flash Flood Emergencies for parts of the Southern New Mexico area on Wednesday, many of the areas that experienced flash floods were those affected by the fires.
An estimated 8,000 people have been evacuated from the area and the Village of Ruidoso continues to be under mandatory evacuation. Ruidoso Downs was also ordered to evacuate on Tuesday evening.
