Elderly couple killed and more than 200 homes destroyed in New Mexico wildfire

The victims’ bodies were found at their burned home in the village of Ruidoso

An elderly couple have been killed in a wildfire in New Mexico after blazes destroyed more than 200 homes.

The victims’ bodies were found at their burned house in the village of Ruidoso after relatives alerted police that they were unaccounted for.

The couple are the first fatalities of the McBride Fire which is burning around 180 miles south of Albuquerque.

The fire has ripped across almost 6,000 acres and destroyed 207 homes since it ignited on Tuesday, with the flames being fanned by seasonal winds gusting up to 90mph.

Hundreds of people have been evacuated. At the local middle school, teachers and parents rushed children to safety after flames surrounded the building on three sides on Tuesday.

Bulldozers were being used to build a barrier between the fire and homes in the area and public officials were hoping for a break in the wind so a helicopter could drop water on the flames.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Further north in the state, steep terrain and gusts up to 60 mph were keeping crews from directly attacking a fire near the community of Las Vegas. That blaze — which started last week when a prescribed fire jumped its containment lines — also forced evacuations.

About 100 people found shelter earlier this week at a school gym in Las Vegas, and San Miguel County authorities began evacuating several more small communities on Tuesday as the fire made a big push to the northeast.

Some people have criticized the US Forest Service’s decision to conduct a prescribed fire amid erratic spring weather conditions. Federal officials have said conditions were calm most of the day before unforeseen winds ignited spot fires beyond the project’s boundaries.

An internal review is expected to be done once the fire is suppressed, officials said.

People were urged to take precautions as red flag and high wind warnings were issued for a large swath spanning the Central Plains, West Texas, all of New Mexico and parts of Arizona.

Strong winds, low humidity and dry conditions that stem from two decades of a persistent megadrought, worsened by the climate crisis, are behind the critical fire weather across New Mexico.

Forecasters warned of similar conditions elsewhere in the West as land managers and firefighters braced for what was expected to be another busy season.

AP contributed to this report