Three summers ago, over Father’s Day weekend, my family and I went camping in the Lincoln National Forest, just a few hours drive north of our home in El Paso, Texas.
asserted
family → go → Paso
It’s a beautiful area that’s long served as a getaway for the region, with skiing in the winter, and golf and hiking in the summer.
asserted
that → ’ → summer
My daughter played under the trees, and I rode my bike down mountain trails that, I noticed, seemed concerningly dry.
asserted
I → play → trails
The next evening, after we left to drive home, two fires started in forests surrounding the town of Ruidoso, New Mexico, around 25 miles away from where we’d been.
asserted
we → leave → Ruidoso
I watched horrifying videos online of fire lapping the mountains behind the village’s strip malls and parking lots.
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fire → watch → malls
The fires were eventually suppressed by a combination of human effort and the late summer monsoon season.
asserted
fires → suppress → effort
But when the downpour of rain hit the burnt landscape around Ruidoso, it created another problem: Recurring floods then ripped through town, damaging homes and infrastructure, and leading to emergency rescues.
asserted
floods → hit → rescues
The following summer, the scene repeated.
asserted
scene → repeat → ?
On July 8, 2025, monsoon rain hit a burn scar and quickly swelled the Rio Ruidoso and its tributaries.
asserted
rain → hit → Ruidoso
Three people — two of them children — lost their lives.
asserted
two → lose → lives
Reporter Abe Streep, a member of ProPublica’s Southwest office, and I met in Ruidoso to report on what happened.
asserted
what → meet → Ruidoso
Ruidoso is a place built on tourism, with a paid (rather than volunteer) fire department staff and its own disaster manager.
asserted
Ruidoso → build → staff
How could two children and a man be swept to their deaths in a place that appeared equipped to handle such disasters?
uncertain
that → sweep → disasters
In two stories ProPublica recently published, Abe answered those questions.
asserted
Abe → publish → questions
He found that, after the 2024 fires, experts warned the town of increased flash flooding risks.
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experts → find → risks
Initially, local and state leaders considered a relocation plan for some homes and businesses that would get people out of harm’s way, but the project faltered.
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project → consider → way
Instead, village leaders continued promoting tourism to the town, and the mayor even chastised residents for warning of floods on social media.
asserted
mayor → continue → media
Abe also reported that, while local and state officials insisted the emergency response to the flood was admirable, first responders say the three deaths could have been avoided.
uncertain
deaths → report → flood
The responders told Abe that village leadership left them understaffed and inadequately equipped to contend with the flooding.
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leadership → tell → flooding
The Village of Ruidoso did not respond to detailed written questions about its emergency response, and it has not publicly released a report on rescue efforts during the flood.
asserted
it → respond → flood
Reached by phone, the fire chief, Cade Hall, disputed our reporting but declined to provide specifics.
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chief → reach → specifics
Mayor Lynn Crawford has said protecting the village includes balancing public safety with tourism, the lifeblood of its economy.
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protecting → say → economy
But in an interview last year, Crawford said to Abe and me: “Who’s to blame?
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Who → say → Abe
I didn’t start the fire.”
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I → start → fire
My role as a photographer was to document Ruidoso as the story unfolded — to visualize the people and place at the center of it.
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story → document → it
It’s a role I’ve had countless times in my career, but this story hit unexpectedly close to home.
asserted
story → ’ → home
I could imagine my own family caught unaware in a similar situation, trying to escape the El Paso summer heat but instead navigating an unfathomable disaster.
uncertain
I → imagine → disaster
When Abe and I started reporting, we met people from the community and out of town who tried to help.
asserted
who → start → town
I watched as New Mexico National Guard service members loaded sand bags into families’ cars, people prepared hot meals for those who had been displaced and volunteers handed out donated supplies from collection centers.
While we were reporting one afternoon, it started raining.
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it → watch → centers
Fear swept through me.
asserted
Fear → sweep → me
Our phones lit up with flood warnings from the National Weather Service.
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phones → light → Service
We knew we should take them seriously.
asserted
we → know → them
Abe and I sought refuge in a local brewery perched high above the river basin.
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Abe → seek → basin
Before we knew it, the water from that thin little creek of Rio Ruidoso became a torrent.
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water → know → Ruidoso
The rushing water rose quickly.
asserted
water → rush → ?
It swept through the river valley right under the brewery, carrying what looked like trees and debris with it.
asserted
what → sweep → it
Still, I wanted to photograph the river up close.
asserted
I → want → river
I left the safety of the brewery and let the heavy rain cover me as I moved closer to the river.
asserted
I → leave → river
As I made photos that afternoon and throughout the rest of the trip, questions about my own safety ran through my mind: Would the water keep rising? If it did, could I get to high ground?
uncertain
I → make → ground
And, notably, would I have enough warning?
asserted
I → have → warning
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
