Launching Into Action: White Sands Firefighters on the Frontlines of New Mexico’s Wildfire Crisis

Ruidoso, New Mexico lay in an unusual hush on June 20, 2024. During any normal summer day, the village in the southern part of the state lives up to the Spanish translation of its name — noisy. But the bustle of this vacation hotspot, which attracts nearly 2 million visitors each year, was stifled by