Xtra Depth: Ruidoso residents scramble for insurance for predicted floods & mudslides after wildfires cause “ashy” & murky river

Ruidoso, NM (KVIA) -- The road to recovery for people who've lost their homes in the wildfires in Ruidoso and the surrounding area will take months, if not years.

Insurance claims are already in motion, but, property owners whose homes did survive the wildfire still have more worries: mudslides and flash flooding.

As we've documented in other KVIA stories, the rivers and arroyos in the area -in- and -near- Ruidoso are black from all of the ashes that are coming downstream from the wildfires.

The chances of flooding have increased drastically without the pine trees and vegetation that help absorb water from the rain.

As viewers were able to see HERE, in this video, ABC-7's Paul Cicala show you how "mucky" the water in the river alongside Ruidoso's main strip is, as a result of the debris from the wildfires.

The Ruidoso Village Facebook page is warning that most National Flood Insurance Program Policy holders will have to wait 30 days after applying and paying their premium for coverage to become effective.

The page explains one exception (known as the "Post-Wildfire Exception.")

It will "retroactively reduce the waiting period for the initial purchase of a flood insurance policy to one day if certain conditions are met."

ABC-7's Paul Cicala caught up in Ruidoso with a spokesperson for State Farm, who also explained "what's next" for homeowners who've lost their homes or belongings as a result of the wilfires.

"We're in the process now of having our claim reps get out there to help our customers.  We currently have close to 400 claims that have been reported thus far from the fire," said Dave Phillips, a spokesperson for State Farm, "More than half are total losses, which means they are completely burnt to the crowd, so what we're doing now is making contact with these policy holders... and sorting the process of assigning the claim rep to take a look at handling, to work with their agent to get things such as additional living expenses, which will provide temporary housing and temporary lodging as you continue to adjust and begin the claim process to get build back to where you were before the fire."

ABC-7's Paul Cicala was in the Ruidoso area covering the wildfires on Thursday through Tuesday, and you can find the in-depth stories he did alongside photographers Jerry Najera & Miguel Favela from that region at: https://kvia.com/category/news/ruidoso-wildfires/