Wildfires in our Hometown – June 2024: Stroud National Agency, Inc. proudly serves independent insurance agents in 18 states across the midwestern, southwestern, and western United States, and for the last 30+ years, we’ve done so from the Stroud family’s adopted hometown of Ruidoso, NM.
In the aftermath of the South Fork and Salt Fires that started on June 17th, 2024, Stroud National Agency, Inc. is fully operational from the Stroud building in Ruidoso and the homes of our staff are relatively unscathed. However, the #StroudCrowd has lived through a whirlwind and our village is truly hurting.
Residents of the village were evacuated at a moment’s notice, forced to seek limited accommodations in surrounding cities and towns, leave their lives on hold for an entire week, and follow updates from a distance as fires rapidly threatened several areas of the village at once. And many of those evacuees were the “lucky” ones who “only” had their lives turned upside down. Others lost their lives, the lives of family members and friends, or their homes.
The Stroud family and the #Stroud Crowd are incredibly grateful to all of the firefighters; utility workers; city, state, and federal officials; and concerned citizens who fought to save our village; and to the citizens of Roswell and other surrounding cities who welcomed evacuees with open arms. We are also thankful for the onset of monsoon rains, which helped to turn the odds in the favor of those fighting the fires.
In addition, we sincerely appreciate the outpouring of care and concern shown to us by our agents and carrier partners. The messages of support we received via email, phone, and social media helped all of us push through a situation that we hope to never have to relive.
Moving forward, we ask that you continue to keep the people of Ruidoso and the Mescalero Apache Reservation in your thoughts and prayers. We also encourage you to consider donating to the Community Foundation of Lincoln County, https://www.cfolc.org/, or the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, https://www.communityfoundationofsouthernnewmexico.org/, to assist with the recovery process. This tragedy, which we’re only just beginning to come to grips with, will take years, if not decades, to overcome, and your support, even from afar, will make a difference.
Finally, as a company that has been serving the insurance needs of people in rural areas for over 6 decades, please consider putting a proactive plan in place to provide for your own safety and security in the event of a wildfire situation in your area. Don’t wait until a wildfire strikes, as you simply won’t have the time to adequately prepare.
The following posts have information to consider for your own plans:
May: Igniting Awareness for Wildfire Prevention: https://www.stroudga.com/%f0%9f%94%a5-may-igniting-awareness-for-wildfire-prevention-%f0%9f%94%a5/
Wildfire Awareness Month: Eight ways to reduce your risks: https://www.stroudga.com/wildfire-awareness-month-eight-ways-to-reduce-your-risks/
#Ruidoso #RuidosoStrong #MescaleroStrong #SouthForkFire #SaltFire #WildfiresInOurHometown #WildfireRecovery #StroudNationalAgency