Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 2004. It stands in the Ruidoso census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88346. It lies near Grapevine Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Ruidoso Downs quadrangle. 2,620 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 6,417 feet above sea level.

Ruidoso Downs within Lincoln County

Population over time

3 figures

Ruidoso Downs grew from 1,824 to 2,620 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

Year	People	Change
2000	1,824
2010	2,815	+991 (+54%)
2020	2,620	-195 (-7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 9 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

1955 USGS Roswell quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
1958 USGS Roswell quadrangle1:250000
1962 USGS Roswell quadrangle1:250000
1963 USGS Ruidoso Downs quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1984 USGS Ruidoso quadrangle1:100000
2004 USGS Ruidoso Downs quadrangle1:24000

Fires near this place

176 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 176 fires within 5 miles of Ruidoso Downs between 1992 and 2020, burning about 17,352 acres in total. 42 started naturally. 8 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	58
Natural	42
Recreation and ceremony	26
Debris and open burning	15
Arson/incendiarism	8
Power generation/transmission/distribution	7
Equipment and vehicle use	6
Misuse of fire by a minor	5
Smoking	4
Other causes	3
Fireworks	2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
5 September 2020	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Lincoln National Forest	120 CAMPFIRE
5 August 1992	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	New Mexico State Forestry Division	MC CARTY
5 August 1992	Natural	under an acre	Lincoln National Forest	not named
21 August 2012	Recreation and ceremony	under an acre	Lincoln National Forest	120A
21 August 2011	Natural	under an acre	Lincoln National Forest	SMOKEY
21 August 1995	Natural	under an acre	Lincoln National Forest	EAGLE
20 August 2001	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Mescalero Agency	FERNANDO
2 August 2019	Natural	under an acre	Lincoln National Forest	EAGLE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Lincoln County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Ruidoso Downs: 7 unknowns, 1 past producer, 1 occurrence, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Gypsum-Anhydrite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Mescalero Gypsum Deposit	Gypsum-Anhydrite	Occurrence	Gypsum
State Hwy Pit No 60-76-S	Stone	Unknown
Tom's Gravel Pit	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Past Producer	1992
Beavers Pit & Crusher	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Graham Mine	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown
Hollywood Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown
Jim Strong Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown
Materials Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown
Materials Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown
Materials Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown

Every working recorded in Lincoln County

Storms near this place

16 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ruidoso Downs in 16 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 7 hail, 7 flash flood, 1 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
September 2001	Flash Flood	Ruidoso Downs	$100,000	no account filed
August 2000	Flash Flood	Ruidoso Downs	$20,000	Peat gravel from new road construction clogged culverts and filled a small retention pond during heavy runoff from a storm that yield about 3 inches of rain in 2 hours. Water then overflowed from the streets into a residential area flowing across lawns and underneath trailer homes. Damage was limited to skirting that was ripped from several homes and an empty propane tank floating away.
August 2011	Flash Flood	Ruidoso Downs	$10,000	Heavy rain fell early in the afternoon across the White Fire burn scar. Fortunately only minor flooding ensued at the time. However, as another round of showers and thunderstorms moved over the burn scar in the evening, more significant flooding resulted. Culverts that were built along a road near Seeping Springs that crossed Allison Canyon were already at capacity from the earlier rains. The additional precipitation caused them to give way, which lead to rapid flows along Allison Canyon. These waters reach the River Ranch RV Park along Highway 70. The water was estimated to be three feet high, which topped the concrete barriers that were installed to protect the park. Fortunately, the park did not sustain any damage.
May 2010	Tornado (EF0)	Ruidoso Downs	$1,500	Winds estimated around 85 mph uprooted at least a dozen mature pinon pine trees at 6340 feet in the northern Sacramento Mountains. In addition, a 500-gallon diesel tank that was estimated to be half full was lofted vertically and carried at least 150 yards, and an empty 53 foot box trailed was tipped on its side. There was also minor damage to a horse/tack barn and a fire department truck.
June 2024	Hail	Ruidoso Downs	-	A trained spotter observed half dollar size hail from a slow moving severe thunderstorm northeast of Ruidoso.
May 2018	Funnel Cloud	Ruidoso Downs	-	An observer spotted a funnel cloud with a thunderstorm a few miles northeast of Ruidoso Downs.
August 2012	Flash Flood	Ruidoso Downs	-	The Rio Ruidoso was reported to be out of its banks along U.S. Highway 70 at Fox Cave.
June 2012	Hail	Ruidoso Downs	-	Quarter size hail reported at Ruidoso Downs.
August 2011	Flash Flood	Ruidoso Downs	-	Emergency management reported the Rio Ruidoso out of its banks for a 6 to 10 mile stretch downstream of the White Fire burn scar. High water levels in the canyons and arroyos on the east and south side of the burn scar flowed into the Rio Ruidoso, causing it to flood. Debris from the burn area was piled up on the banks. Near mile marker 272.5 on Highway 70, portions of the Rio de Oso Trailer park was underwater.
July 2011	Flash Flood	Ruidoso Downs	-	Heavy rains led to flooding in Allison Canyon along U.S. Highway 70 near mile marker 268. Fortunately, residents in the River Ranch RV park along the canyon were evacuated prior to the high water reaching the ranch. An estimated 4 to 6 feet of water flowed through the area. Fortunately, the RV park did not sustain much damage.
August 2011	Flash Flood	Ruidoso Downs	-	Though the Rio Ruidoso was running high and fast downstream of Ruidoso Downs, the most significant flooding was within the town itself. Water approximately two feet deep flooded the intersection of Highlands and Joe Welch. An SUV attempted to cross the waters but was unsuccessful. Flooding and debris from the White Fire burn scar was also noted along Highway 70.
August 2013	Hail	Ruidoso Downs	-	no account filed
July 2007	Hail	Ruidoso Downs	-	no account filed
June 2007	Hail	Ruidoso Downs	-	no account filed
September 1999	Hail	Ruidoso Downs	-	no account filed
July 1996	Hail	Ruidoso Downs	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Lincoln County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Hollywood	1.7 miles	10
Ruidoso	3.6 miles	10
Ponderosa Heights	4.3 miles	10
Alpine Cellars Village	5.6 miles	10
Alto	6.3 miles	11
Sun Valley	7.1 miles	11
Sierra Vista	7.2 miles	11
Angus	8.7 miles	11

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Ruidoso Downs	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2533606	The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 923669. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.