"The main reason was the South Fork Fire last year that burned directly west of Ruidoso," Grzywacz said. "The soil wasn't able to absorb any of the rainfall, and it runs right down into Ruidoso. Normally, if you had that vegetation still there, it could absorb it. For the Ruidoso monsoon season, it was above average rain but not record rainfall."

The two children were identified as Charlotte Trotter, 4, and Sebastian Trotter, 7, according to their aunt Tiffanie Wyatt. She said their father, Sebastian Trotter, a solder based at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, and their mother, Stephanie, both suffered serious injuries but survived and were receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Texas.

The summer rainy season in New Mexico usually brings daily alerts about the potential for flooding around the arid state.

As residents and businesspeople in Ruidoso assess the damage caused by heavy and dangerous flooding, others can find ways to help. Here is what to know.

There will be no more horse races at Ruidoso Downs for 2025, after flood waters ravaged the race track for the second year in a row.

A man and two children were killed in a record-breaking flash flood that swept through a village in New Mexico on Tuesday, local officials said. The three were "swept downstream by the unprecedented floodwaters that struck" the Village of Ruidoso,

"We want everyone to know that the kids were full of life and always laughing," the children's aunt said in a statement