EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The Community Foundation of Lincoln County, through its Shelter Fund, has been at the forefront of helping Ruidoso residents get back on their feet after two devasting wildfires in summer 2024 and subsequent flash flooding.
The Community Foundation said it distributed more than $3.5 million to more than 1,100 households.
The Shelter Fund has been operating for more than 18 years. It was created by an anonymous donoer after the Little Bear Fire of 2012.
The fund, for instance, helped Ruidoso residents after the McBride Fire in 2022.
That served as a “dress rehearsal,” the Community Foundation said, for the summer of 2024.
That is when the Ruidoso area was hit by the South Fork and Salt fires in June 2024 and then by devasting flooding the following month.
“Because the CFLC has very few operating costs — at that time they didn’t have a headquarters, a staff, a car, or even a phone number — no fees were applied and every penny raised went right back into the community,” the Community Foundation said in a news release.
Donations were accepted through November to help with last summer’s fires and flooding. Donations are still be accepted but they will be earmarked for future fire and flooding events “that will inevitably occur,” the Community Foundation said.
To make a donation, you can click here.
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