Thousands of people told to flee the largest wildfire burning in the United States have chosen to stay and defend generational homes in the mountains of northern New Mexico, even as some run out of food and water, officials said.
In Mora County, population 4,500, around 60% of residents in evacuation areas have remained in centuries-old farming and ranching communities where electric power has been lost, said Undersheriff Americk Padilla.
Local doctor Matthew Probst said residents had high “social vulnerability,” families possibly owning a $15,000 mobile home outright but having no home owner's insurance and few financial resources. "It's more than just your place or your personal belongings and your material things. This is your land, your soul connected to it generationally," said Probst, who has evacuated his family and livestock from the village of Ojitos Frios.
“I have no doubt that we have people without power who are on oxygen. I have no doubt we have individuals who are running out of food and water,” Lujan Grisham told a news briefing.
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