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As fire spread around Ruidoso, one school had to act fast

Smoke in the forests around Ruidoso. Firefighters are trying to contain a blaze that has burned thousands of acres.
McBride Fire public information Facebook page
Smoke in the forests around Ruidoso. Firefighters are trying to contain a blaze that has burned thousands of acres.

As fire began on Tuesday and spread rapidly around Ruidoso, thousands of people were evacuated.

Cecily Hooker, the principal at Ruidoso Middle School, said the situation escalated rapidly.

"This fire started very quickly," she said. "We sighted the smoke, and within mere minutes it was coming at us in two different directions."

Students and teachers initially sheltered in hardened concrete areas, because planned escape routes were blocked by smoke and fire. The fire department coordinated with schools to get buses there by the safest available road and hundreds of students and teachers were evacuated within 90 minutes.

"I couldn't be absolutely more proud of my staff for being calm and courageous, especially knowing that their own homes were in danger, and not knowing where exactly their families were at the time," Hooker said. "So they were absolutely amazing."

She said it was a huge relief when the last child was picked up. The school itself was protected by concrete walls and is undamaged.

Alice Fordham joined the news team in 2022 after a career as an international correspondent, reporting for NPR from the Middle East and later Latin America and Europe. She also worked as a podcast producer for The Economist among other outlets, and tries to meld a love of sound and storytelling with solid reporting on the community. She grew up in the U.K. and has a small jar of Marmite in her kitchen for emergencies.
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