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“This is a state that fronts money — doesn’t wait for FEMA,� Lujan Grisham said at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, where many evacuees had fled Monday evening. Some are staying at temporary shelters, while others are sheltering in motels or with relatives and friends.

“They are overwhelmed. They weren’t built to rebuild,� the governor said.

The South Fork and Salt fires still raging in the Ruidoso area have led to the deaths of at least two people, and more may be missing. The blazes, which ignited Monday, have burned an estimated 1,400 homes and displaced thousands of Lincoln County residents.

Authorities found unidentified charred remains within a burned car Tuesday. There were no identifying documents intact in the vehicle with the skeletal remains on Ranier Road in Ruidoso, New Mexico State Police wrote in an email.

Police were able to identify another victim of the fire: Patrick Pearson, 60, was found dead Tuesday on a roadside near the Swiss Chalet Motel. He had suffered extensive severe burns.

Lujan Grisham said in her briefing some families refused to evacuate and have gone missing. Several people who didn’t leave as the fire dangers rose have been rescued, she said. She implored people to evacuate, even though they may return to find their homes destroyed.

“I do know there are some people who stayed behind, I just don’t have a number,� the governor said. “I think [that] does cause added stress to the firefighting and first-responding teams about who might still be in those areas.�

New Mexico’s congressional delegation has echoed her request for emergency aid.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Workforce Solutions is seeking federal approval to offer disaster unemployment aid to workers affected by the fires. The workers can apply for regular jobless benefits as a first step.

State Insurance Superintendent Alice Kane has ordered insurers to take it easy on fire-affected customers. Companies that write home, car and health insurance policies are ordered to offer four-month grace periods for paying premiums and to offer payment plans of at least six months for those who can’t catch up at the end of those 120 days.

Among other provisions, home insurers that cover additional living expenses are also being ordered to promptly issue advance payments of $5,000 to customers.

The order will stay in effect for the next four months.

Rain a mixed blessing

The South Fork Fire grew to 16,335 acres and the Salt Fire had scorched 7,071 acres as of early Wednesday as the Southwest Area Incident Management Team 5 took command of the battle against the blazes. By midafternoon, the fires were still burning uncontained.

The cause of the fires, which ignited on tribal land, was not known Wednesday.

More than 250 personnel are fighting the wildfires with heavy equipment, fire engines, helicopters and air tankers aiding the effort, which has been proving a challenge.

The two deaths and fears about those who remain missing gave forest managers more reason to hope for rain as crews battled the wildfires devouring forest land on the Mescalero Apache Reservation and in Ruidoso.

Late in the day it came, creating a mixed blessing that dampened the flames while raising concerns about potential flooding.

Overall, the rain was deemed a positive development.

“Any moisture is definitely always welcome,� said Amanda Fry, a Lincoln National Forest spokeswoman.

Still, she noted, “The weather can bring with it good or bad.�

Lightning, which can spark more fires, remains a concern throughout the forest.

Impending rainfall, while possibly helping douse or slow the flames, also brings hazards, officials said.

Heavy rain can cause flooding on hillsides that earlier wildfires had blackened and stripped bare of trees and vegetation, most recently the Blue 2 Fire, said George Ducker, a State Forestry Division spokesman, referring to a recent wildfire that charred more than 7,500 acres north of Ruidoso.

For that reason, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning Wednesday in areas around the Blue 2 burn scar and that of the McBride Fire, which burned more than 6,000 acres in 2022, causing two deaths and destroying 107 structures.

In response to the flood warning, the Ruidoso Office of Emergency Management halted operations in eight areas, according to the . The affected areas are Upper Canyon, Eagle Drive, Sleepy Hollow, Country Club, Lower Gavilan, Lower Paradise Canyon, Two Rivers and Carrizo Canyon.

Rainstorms drenching the area in the evening concerned local and state officials and public safety managers who noted floodwaters could flow down hills and collect under bridges, creating hazards.

Ducker said rain is generally helpful in extinguishing wildfires, as long as it’s not torrential.

“A perfect rain is a mild to moderate rain,� he said. “Anything above that can be become problematic.�

For instance, thunderstorms will ground air crews, he added.

Winds also can be beneficial or harmful, depending on their direction, Ducker said.

Late in the day, the winds shifted toward the northwest, he said, noting earlier they were blowing toward the southwest. That helps parts of Ruidoso because it moves the fire away from those residential areas toward the Blue 2 burn scar, he said. But on the flip side, it could push the Salt Fire toward communities north of town, such as ones near Ruidoso Downs.

It also could further threaten the racetrack itself, where horse trainers and owners are trying to remove hundreds of racehorses.

Roswell Mayor Tim Jennings said it was tragic that so many people lost everything. But he was heartened by the countless people from surrounding communities who teamed up to help those who were affected, even with simple things like providing cots and meals at shelters.

This unity is what will be needed to get through a long, painful recovery, Jennings said.

“We’re all together, working together,� he added. “This is not going to be over tomorrow.�

Correction: A previous version of this story identified Tim Jennings as the mayor of Ruidoso. He is mayor of Roswell.