Home Care In Garfield, NM

DONA ANA COUNTY, N.M. (KFOX14/CBS4) — Doña Ana County has lifted an evacuation notice for the communities of Salem, Garfield, Placitas, Hatch, and Rincon.

Although the evacuation order has been lifted, those returning to the Rincon area are urged to use caution. At least one water rescue was conducted in the area on Wednesday morning. Flooding, debris, damaged roads and other hazards remain.

A Flash Flood Emergency has been issued for northwestern Doña Ana County after officials reported the imminent failure of McLeod Dam on the McLeod Arroyo.

The warning remains in effect until 8:45 p.m. MDT Tuesday.

Dam operators and county officials reported the imminent failure at about 2:01 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

WATCH:

Flood damage in the Salem area following the imminent failure of the McLeod Dam on Tuesday (Credit: Michael Martinez)

Officials said life-threatening flash flooding is possible in rural areas between Garfield and Salem, including portions of Highways 187 and 390. Areas along the Garfield Drain, Garfield Canal and other drainage and irrigation ditches could also be affected.

The National Weather Service called the situation “particularly dangerous” and urged people in low-lying areas below McLeod Dam to move to higher ground immediately.

According to NWS officials, the arroyo is breaching in Rincon.

Meanwhile, in a statement to KFOX14/CBS4, Dona Ana County officials clarified that the McLeod Dam had a "very small piping failure that has since been mitigated. No water is exiting from the dam at this point."

Officials added, "Pumps are en route to the structure to pump water out downstream and alleviate pressure on the dam."

Concerning the Rio Grande, county officials confirmed that the Rio Grande has overtopped its banks, adding, " The Rio Grande River banks in low-lying areas along the river corridor typically overtop in those specific areas. At this time, there is no reason for us to believe that the levy itself has been compromised."

Residents are advised not to drive through flooded roadways and to follow instructions from local emergency officials.

County officials urged people who are evacuating to take essential medications, identification, important documents, necessary supplies, and items for children and pets.

Residents are also advised not to wait until conditions worsen to evacuate.

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Evacuation orders from Garfield to Hatch were issued by Doña Ana county Tuesday night after large amounts of rain covered the area and a dam was close to failure.

First reports of trouble in the northern part of the county came in around 2:00pm when an emergency alert went out warning of a “life threatening situation" due to the "imminent failure” of the McLeod Dam in Garfield.

According to The National Inventory of Dams, the last inspection done in 2023 showed the McLeod Dam was in “poor” condition, had a high potential hazard classification and had no emergency action plan in place.

Due to this and the heavy rainfall in the area, Doña Ana County issued evacuation orders for Garfield and Salem. Later evacuation orders also came in for Rincon, Hatch and Placitas.

State representative Nathan Small was at one of the evacuation points at the Radium Springs Community Resource Center. He shared what he heard at that time.

“What we heard, sort of from reports, there is water coming over the top of some flood control facilities in that northern part of Doña Ana county. There is flooding in the village of Hatch and so folks are being asked to in specific areas and I think that everyone needs to be on a higher state of awareness and caution right now,” Small said.

Also present at the community center was The American Red Cross. At the time of the interview, around five to seven residents were there. American Red Cross Community Disaster Program Manager for Southern New Mexico Carina Gonzalez said that they would be there to help as long as they are needed.

“So this is a safe and warm place for them to stay overnight so obviously they will sleep in cots for the remaining time. We will have snacks, water, just a place to come and then from there we will see what other needs arise,” Gonzalez said.

UPDATE (9/30/26, 5:06AM): Doña Ana County lifted the evacuation orders for residents and visitors in Salem, Hatch, Garfield, Placitas Tuesday night, as storms have passed and additional large volumes of rain are not forecasted, according to a Doña Ana County press release.

The evacuation order remains in effect for Rincon. Residents in Rincon who evacuated should not return home at this time due to the dangers of standing floodwaters. Conditions in the area remain unsafe, and residents should continue to follow evacuation instructions from emergency officials.

Tropical moisture from Hurricane Polo and a pair of other weather systems are fueling dangerous flooding from the Southwest into the Plains, with more rounds of heavy rain expected through Friday.

Floodwaters breached a 20-foot dam wall in southern New Mexico on Tuesday, sending water into Garfield as tropical moisture fueled dangerous flooding across the Southwest.

Video captured flooding in the community after the breach, marking a sharp escalation in a flooding emergency that had already prompted residents near McLeod Dam to evacuate.

Earlier Tuesday, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency after dam operators and county officials reported that failure was imminent.

“At 2:01 PM MDT, dam operators and county officials reported the imminent failure of McLeod Dam,” according to the NWS warning.

People in areas between Garfield and Salem were told to get to higher ground immediately. The evacuations for those areas, along with Hatch and Placitas, were lifted Tuesday night. Evacuations remain for Rincon as of Wednesday morning.

The emergency unfolded amid a broader round of Southwest flooding as moisture from Pacific hurricanes fueled heavy rain, dangerous road conditions and water rescues.

Hurricane Polo made its second landfall in Mexico on Tuesday, while deep tropical moisture connected to the storm streamed northward into the United States. Flash flooding was reported in parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada as roads filled with fast-moving water.

The village of Ruidoso, New Mexico, issued a voluntary evacuation notice for those in Upper Canyon beyond Main and Fox roads due to the risk of landslides. A shelter is open at Gateway Church.

Farther west in Deming, New Mexico, multiple vehicles became trapped Tuesday as widespread flooding closed roads. Firefighters helped push at least one stalled vehicle from the floodwater.

Flooding also created hazardous travel in southern Nevada. Video from Laughlin showed drivers navigating water-covered roads as swift-moving runoff pushed debris onto the pavement.

In Henderson, Nevada, firefighters pulled one person to safety Monday after a vehicle became stranded in about 2 feet of water near Paradise Hills Drive and Interstate 11.

A man was rescued by helicopter on Tuesday in Arizona's Maricopa County after his truck overturned in floodwater and he became stranded on top of the vehicle.

What's fueling the multiday flood threat?

The flooding is part of a much larger, three-pronged weather setup that AccuWeather meteorologists say could produce dangerous conditions across more than a dozen states.

A combination of leftover moisture from former Hurricane Odalys, moisture streaming north from Polo and a storm system moving in from the West is creating what forecasters describe as a three-pronged flood threat.

“In some places, especially in New Mexico, this may be the most dangerous flash flooding risk in the last five years or more,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said.

Rain and thunderstorms are expected to continue across parts of the Southwest, South Central states and Plains through Friday. Some areas could receive 4-8 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts possible where thunderstorms repeatedly move over the same locations or terrain enhances rainfall. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ is 18 inches.

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Hundreds fled as New Mexico's McLeod Dam neared collapse; some returned home, but Rincon remains evacuated.

Hundreds of people from at least five communities in southern New Mexico were ordered to evacuate their homes as flash floods pushed the McLeod Dam to the brink of failure.

People in Salem, Garfield, Hatch and Placitas were able to return to their homes late Tuesday night, but officials in Doña Ana County said Rincon remains evacuated.

The National Weather Service issued an urgent warning for people to seek higher ground Tuesday afternoon, as operators of the dam reported its imminent failure and potentially life threatening flooding downstream.

Stunning video showed the floodwaters overtopping the dam on Tuesday afternoon.

Local news reports showed washed out roads across Doña Ana County, and officials begged residents to avoid driving if possible.

Gavin Smith, a Garfield resident, told The Associated Press that he and others had initially left the area before returning to assess conditions. He said floodwater had reached one side of the road near his home but had not yet crossed it.

Smith said his family was prepared to use sandbags around the doors if necessary and leave for either Truth or Consequences or Las Cruces if the water continued to rise.

Hurricane Polo remnants flooding the Southwest

Intense rainfall fueled by the remnants of Hurricane Polo is inundating the Desert Southwest, in the last 36 hours some areas have picked up more than 4 inches of rain, said our meteorologist Jennifer Gray.

Dozens of water rescues have been happening as drivers get caught in fast-moving floods.

In Tonopah, Arizona, west of Phoenix, a driver clinging to his overturned truck was rescued Tuesday by a helicopter team from the Maricopa County Sheriff's office.

On Monday night, the Mohave County's Sheriff's Office shared photos from its rescue of a family stranded in their RV that was overcome by floodwaters near Lake Havasu City.

Officials say the man and woman were camping with their two sons, ages 1 and 3, when the water reached the hood of the RV and started coming through the doors. Rescuers were able to get everyone out safely.

Flash flood alerts remained in place for parts of New Mexico Wednesday morning. The flood threat also expands into Texas. Some areas could get as much as 5 inches of rain, including Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.

You can get full forecast details here.

DOÑA ANA COUNTY, N.M. —

Unprecedented flooding along the Rio Grande forced the evacuation of the villages of Hatch, Rincon, and Garfield in southern New Mexico, as heavy rains caused dams to over top and streams to overflow their banks.

Alessandra Alanis, a farmer in Garfield, said her family's crops were submerged on Wednesday.

"We've been waiting for water, waiting for water all year, and I don't think anyone expected it to come all at once, especially in one day," Alanis said.

Some of the crops are located near McLeod Dam, which officials have warned is in imminent danger of breaching. Alanis captured cellphone videos of water rushing down shortly before being ordered to evacuate.

"No one could have imagined what's going on there or prepared for it, we weren't prepared for it," she said.

A farmer described seeing unprecedented water levels in a canal near McLeod Dam, where New Mexico Department of Transportation workers were clearing debris from the road.

As rain continued to pour, the entire village of Hatch was ordered to evacuate. Police officers were seen going door to door, telling residents to leave.

The flooding has brought back memories of the devastating Hatch flood of 2006, which occurred 20 years ago in August.

Evacuated residents, including Alanis, are hoping the remaining dams and levees in the area, including McLeod Dam, will hold up.

"I mean it was honestly a scary scene earlier when it was just overflowing. So I can't imagine if the rain picks up and it rains all night and it truly does erode on one end and open up, it would be pretty scary," Alanis said.