Latest news with #RVpark
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Children cling to ceiling fan as Ruidoso, NM flooding destroys RV park, family home
RUIDOSO, New Mexico — Jason Fulcher picked through the remains of his home along the banks of the Rio Ruidoso, salvaging what he could the day after a flash flood ripped through his home and the RV park he owns. The Riverview RV Park on busy Suddreth Drive was nearly full the afternoon of Tuesday, July 8, before what Fulcher described as a big wave of water and mud crashed through the campsites. The fast-moving water swept away six people, RVs, vehicles and the whole front of Fulcher's home. Fulcher and his wife, Lindsey, watched in horror from a hill overlooking the park as the water rushed by, unable to do anything for their two children who were trapped inside their house. The children, ages 7 and 13, clung to a ceiling fan as they floated on a mattress in the rising waters. The rush of muddy water eventually broke away from the front of the Fulchers' house. "We stood on top of this hill watching my house crumble around my children while we were on the phone with 911," said Fulcher as he fought back tears. "They were on the phone with their mom, praying to God. And you're just helpless. You can't do anything." Other guests, including Rod Downing, a 69-year-old from near Waco, Texas, who had arrived two days prior with his wife and puppy, described a chaotic scene. The two were pinned in their trailer by another RV that had been pushed by the floodwater. "There were people screaming," he said. "It's something I don't want to ever live through again." More: 'There are no borders': Mexican search and rescue teams join relief efforts in Texas Downing waited for the water to recede and escaped from the RV through an emergency window. Fulcher's children and other guests at the campsite, including Downing and his wife, were saved by local search and rescue teams. One guest had climbed up a tree to escape the water. But not everyone at the RV park was as lucky as the Fulcher and Downing families. An El Paso family, who had arrived two days prior from El Paso, Texas, were swept away by the quickly moving water. Charlotte and Sebastian Trotter, 4 and 7 years old, were found dead. A statement released by Fort Bliss confirmed that the family was from the Army post. The soldier and his spouse were seriously injured and are being treated at a hospital in Texas, authorities said. Jerry Stark and Tim Feagin — both of whom worked and lived at the campsite — were also carried away in the flood. Feagin was killed in the flood, Fulcher said. Stark was located and taken to a hospital in Ruidoso. The rushing waters quickly spilled over the Rio Ruidoso's banks, washing homes away and damaging structures along the river banks. The flood moved quickly down Sudderth Drive before cutting through Fulcher's and his neighbor's land. "We experienced flooding last year due to the burn scars, but it was nothing like yesterday," Fulcher said. "(The water was) faster than you can run because the people that were running got overtaken by it." More: Why do ICE agents wear masks and how it's eroding public confidence in some communities The flash flood on Tuesday, July 8, was a historic event, with the water cresting at 20 feet high, authorities said during a news briefing on the flood. Previous flash floods were measured at 15 feet. "We just saw some of the worst flooding I've ever seen," Ruidoso Fire Chief Cade Hall said. "I've lived here my entire life and that was a wall of water that we've never seen before." The Ruidoso Fire Department quickly moved into action as the waters rose. There were at least 65 people saved by the fire department's swift water operations response, Hall said during the news briefing on Wednesday, July 9. Ruidoso officials are still assessing the impacts of the flood, but Michael Martinez, Ruidoso's deputy village manager, estimates that at least 89 homes in the Upper Canyon region of the mountain town were damaged. The village of Ruidoso has submitted a request for the federal government to make a disaster declaration, Mayor Lynn Crawford said. The clean up at the Riverview RV Park began the morning following the disaster. Fulcher picked around the remains of his home along the banks of the river, salvaging what he could. He found a few tools and a YouTube plaque that he had had made for his son to celebrate his channel. Downing also collected items from his RV. His Ford pickup truck was one of the vehicles swept downriver. Volunteers also arrived from the surrounding area to assist in moving the RVs that were damaged and had become entangled with each other and trees. More: DHS places new limitations on congressional oversight, as concern grows over ICE facilities The house will have to be bulldozed, Fulcher said. He explained that his insurance will likely not cover the cost of rebuilding. And now he has to figure out what to do with the campsite reservations that had been made for the rest of the summer. "But at the end of the day, I've got my wife and my kids," Fulcher said, "but I wish we could say the same for everybody that was here." More: For the first time in decades, the US-Mexico border is silent. Here's why Jeff Abbott covers the border for the El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@ @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @ on Bluesky. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Ruidoso, New Mexico flooding survivors recount deadly disaster
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
With just word-of-mouth warning, a man raced 25 miles to save guests at his Texas RV park
CENTER POINT, TX – As rain fell in heavy sheets and the Guadalupe River muscled over its banks with astonishing speed, David Chambers knocked on one door after another at his RV resort. The once-idyllic RV park – named Guadalupe Keys Resort to evoke the laid-back vibe of the Florida Keys – boasted nine fully furnished RVs for rent (each with its own barbecue pit), a small sandy beach shaded by towering cypress trees, and lawn chairs for lounging and watching the gentle flow of the Guadalupe. At 6:50 a.m. July 4, that same river was foaming and galloping – and headed their way. 'You got to get out!' Chambers yelled into one RV after another until all 15 people who had rented the units had evacuated. Minutes later, the brown water had covered the park, flipping RVs, smashing them against trees and stacking them in a corner of the park. The floodwaters pushed others miles downstream. On July 7, Chambers sat on one of the lawn chairs with friends and recalled the frantic moments when the river mauled his park. He was glad he was able to alert his residents and hustle them to safety. But he – like others along the Guadalupe River corridor – said he was stunned not to have had better warning. 'It just came so fast,' said Chambers, 77. 'A warning system would have given us more than just 30 minutes.' How to properly warn the residents, camps and parks along the Guadalupe River of impending floods has been a topic of much debate here since the July 4 floods washed away homes and camps and killed more than 100 people, many of them children. Kerr County, which includes Center Point, is full of hilly topography with rivers and creeks so prone to flooding that it earned the nickname 'Flash Flood Alley.' Yet, in 2017 and again in 2018, state officials denied the county a $1 million grant to build a flood warning system that would have upgraded 20 water gauge systems, added new water level sensors and posts, and created software and a website to distribute that information to the public in real-time. 'We can do all the water level monitoring we want, but if we don't get that information to the public in a timely way, then this whole thing is not worth it,' then-County Commissioner Tom Moser said at a meeting in January 2017, days before the application deadline. As residents return to muddied, wrecked homes or plan funerals for loved ones lost in the floods, many are asking why there wasn't more warning. Meteorologists issued a flood 'watch' on the afternoon of July 3 but didn't upgrade it to a more urgent 'emergency' until 4 a.m. July 4 – when many unsuspecting residents were asleep in harm's way. Search efforts: A flood killed his entire family in 2015. Now, he's joined search efforts in Texas. Camp Mystic, a venerable and beloved Christian camp for girls near Hunt, Texas, lost at least 27 campers and counselors in the floods. J.R. Singley, of Kerrville, said river communities need a better flood warning system, including sirens like those that warn of tornadoes. 'We lost 24 or 25 or 26 kids,' he said. 'These young kids, they were terrorized by this thing. To die like that is, in my opinion, terrible.' He added: 'If we'd had a decent warning system, it would have made all the difference in the world.' Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Fox News on July 7 that he and Gov. Greg Abbott have discussed paying for siren warning systems along river communities prone to flash flooding. 'Had we had sirens along this area, up and down … that would've blown very loudly,' he told the news channel, 'it's possible that that would've saved some of these lives.' Chambers said he didn't know of any threatening storm system or flood potential until he received a phone call at his home in nearby Boerne from Drew Yancy, his partner who was staying on the property. Yancy told him the Guadalupe was rising. Chambers sped the 25 miles to the park, arriving just as the river was spilling over its banks. It was 6:29 a.m. As he stood watching the swelling river, he saw a 4-foot-high wall of water rolling down the river toward him, carrying tree branches, roof siding and other debris. He sprinted up the shore, and he and another worker began banging on RV doors. He didn't stop until all 15 customers, including several children, had left the property. On July 7, the park was a disaster zone: RVs were stacked on top of one another in the mud at a corner of the park. One had flipped upside down and lost most of its body; several had vanished downstream. One of his shipping containers containing tools and other belongings was spotted by a friend in Waring, Texas – 15 miles downstream. Uprooted cypress and live oak trees littered the park. Most of the three-story-tall cypress trees near the beach were splintered or uprooted. Thick river mud covered everything. Chambers celebrated his 77th birthday July 7 as volunteers spread across his property, using chain saws to hack through downed trees or clearing debris. He has insurance and plans to rebuild, though he won't put RVs near the riverbank again – those are the ones that vanished downstream. But if he's going to rebuild, he said, the county or state should come up with a better warning system. 'America always reacts. It never tries to prevent,' Chambers said. 'We need to start preventing.' Contributing: Kenny Jacob Follow Jervis on X: @MrRJervis. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas RV park owner raced miles to warn guests to seek safer ground
CBC
4 days ago
- Climate
- CBC
New Mexico residents watch in shock as flash flood sweeps entire house downstream
Residents were glued to the windows at a riverside brewery in Ruidoso, New Mexico, as a flash flood swept through town, carrying rocks and debris. Nervous chatter filled the taproom at Downshift Brewing Company, where about 50 people were sheltering from monsoon rains that caused the Rio Ruidoso to swell to more than six metres on Tuesday, a tentative record. The gasps in the room grew louder as an entire house floated by, knocking down trees in its path. The turquoise paint on the front door of the single-storey white house with brown slats was barely visible under layers of mud. But local artist Kaitlyn Carpenter, who was filming the flooding on her phone, recognized it immediately as the family home of one of her best friends. "I've been in that house and have memories in that house, so seeing it come down the river was just pretty heartbreaking," she said. "I just couldn't believe it." A symbol of flood's destruction No one was inside the house that day. Carpenter says her friend stays elsewhere during the summer since the mountain town is prone to flooding. Images and video she took of the house have been widely shared as a stark symbol of the flood's destruction. Three people at a riverside RV park died after being swept away in the river, including two children. Dozens of homes have been damaged, and streets were clogged with mud and debris. Farther down the river, pieces of metal and other debris were twisted around tree trunks. Broken tree limbs were wedged against homes and piled on porches. The water was thick with sediment and many roads remained closed Wednesday. The popular summer destination has been especially vulnerable to flooding since last summer, when the South Fork and Salt fires raced across tinder-dry forest and destroyed hundreds of homes. Residents were forced to flee a wall of flames, only to grapple with intense flooding later that summer.
Washington Post
4 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
On the Guadalupe River, Texans search for the missing
National On the Guadalupe River, Texans search for the missing July 10, 2025 | 1:20 AM GMT At the Guadalupe Keys Resort RV Park in Center Point, Texas, volunteers help remove debris and search for the missing on July 9.
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Climate
- Associated Press
An entire house swept downstream in New Mexico floods seen as a symbol of the devastation
RUIDOSO, N.M. (AP) — Residents were glued to the windows at a riverside brewery in Ruidoso, New Mexico, as a flash flood swept through town, carrying rocks and debris. Nervous chatter filled the taproom at Downshift Brewing Company, where about 50 people were sheltering from monsoon rains that caused the Rio Ruidoso to swell to more than 20 feet (6.1 kilometers) on Tuesday, a tentative record. The gasps in the room grew louder as an entire house floated by, knocking down trees in its path. The turquoise paint on the front door of the single-story white house with brown slats was barely visible under layers of mud. But local artist Kaitlyn Carpenter, who was filming the flooding on her phone, recognized it immediately as the family home of one of her best friends. 'I've been in that house and have memories in that house, so seeing it come down the river was just pretty heartbreaking,' she said. 'I just couldn't believe it.' No one was inside the house that day. Carpenter said her friend stays elsewhere during the summer since the mountain town is prone to flooding. Her image of the house has been widely shared as a stark symbol of the flood's destruction. Three people who were at a riverside RV park died after being swept away in the river, including two children. Dozens of homes have been damaged, and streets were clogged with mud and debris. Farther down the river, pieces of metal and other debris were twisted around tree trunks. Broken tree limbs were wedged against homes and piled on porches. The water was thick with sediment and many roads still remained closed Wednesday. The popular summer destination has been especially vulnerable to flooding since the summer of 2024, when the South Fork and Salt fires raced across tinder-dry forest and destroyed hundreds of homes. Residents were forced to flee a wall of flames, only to grapple with intense flooding later that summer.
