By MORGAN LEE and THOMAS PEIPERT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Three people were killed when monsoon rains triggered flash flooding in a New Mexico village, sending walls of water, mud and debris rushing down mountainsides that have been repeatedly scarred over recent years by wildfires and post-fire flooding.

A man, a 4-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy were swept away Tuesday by floodwaters, the village of Ruidoso said in a statement. The village is about 130 miles (210 kilometers) southeast of Albuquerque.

Village officials said no one else has been reported missing as of Wednesday morning.

Mayor Lynn Crawford said the community is devastated by the loss of life, a tragedy that it not unfamiliar for the popular summer retreat. Before the monsoon began, Ruidoso had made much progress in recovering from last year’s deluge and the mayor acknowledged that the village will have to start over in some areas.

“As bad as it is, it could have been way worse because people did heed the warning, did get the higher ground,” he said during a radio address. “But we do have people that are in greater need today than they were yesterday.”

Dozens of swift water rescues

Search and rescue crews were out Wednesday in places that had been hard to reach before dark on Tuesday evening.

Emergency crews completed at least 85 swift water rescues in the Ruidoso area, including of people who were trapped in their homes and cars as the water rose Tuesday, said Danielle Silva of the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Two National Guard rescue teams and several local crews already were in the area when the flooding began, Silva said, and more Guard teams were expected.

The water receded by nightfall, leaving cars stranded in the mud and public works scrambling to clear debris from the roadways. Several roads remained closed Wednesday, and the mayor said it would take time to restore utilities in the most damaged neighborhoods.

The floods came just days after flash floods in Texas killed over 100 people and left more than 160 people missing.

Residents urged to seek higher ground

In New Mexico, officials urged residents to seek higher ground Tuesday afternoon as heavy rainfall caused the Rio Ruidoso to rise nearly 19 feet (2.7 meters) in minutes. The National Weather Service issued flood warnings in the area, which had been stripped of vegetation by wildfires.

A weather service flood gauge and companion video camera showed churning water surge over the river’s banks into surrounding forest.

Kaitlyn Carpenter, an artist in Ruidoso, was riding her motorcycle through town Tuesday afternoon when the storm started to pick up. She sought shelter at the riverside Downshift Brewing Company with about 50 other people and started to film debris rushing down the river.

She spotted a house float by with a familiar turquoise door. It belonged to the family of one of her best friends. She said the family was not in the house and was safe.

“I’ve been in that house and have memories in that house, so seeing it come down the river was just pretty heartbreaking,” Carpenter said.

Village officials continued Wednesday to encourage people to call an emergency line if their loved ones or neighbors were missing or affected by the flood.

A vulnerable area after last year’s wildfires

The area 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 an estimated 1,400 homes and structures. Residents were forced to flee a wall of flames, only to grapple with intense flooding later that summer.

“We know that the water levels seemed to be higher than they were last summer,” Silva said. “It is a significant amount of water flowing throughout, some of it in new areas that didn’t flood last year.”

Matt DeMaria, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, said storms formed in the early afternoon over terrain that was scorched by wildfire. The burn scar was unable to absorb a lot of the rain, as water quickly ran downhill into the river.

Preliminary measurements show the Rio Ruidoso crested at more than 20 feet (6 meters) — a record high if confirmed — and receded Tuesday evening.

Three shelters opened for people who cannot return home.

Cory State, who works at the Downshift Brewing Company, welcomed in dozens of residents as the river surged and hail pelted the windows. The house floating by was “just one of the many devastating things about today,” he said.

The sight brought back painful memories for Carpenter, whose art studio was swept away during a flood last year. Outside, the air smelled of gasoline, and loud crashes could be heard as the river knocked down trees in its path. She said it was terrifying.

Crawford said people are anxious and afraid, as the monsoon is sure to bring more rain throughout the summer.

“Yesterday was a good lesson — you know that Mother Nature is a much bigger powerful force than we are,” he said. “And that we can do a lot of things to protect ourselves and to try to help direct and whatever, but we cannot control.”

Peipert reported from Denver. Associated Press writers Matt Brown in Denver, Hallie Golden in Seattle, Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.