Crime & Public Safety
County orders evacuations as McLeod Dam reported at risk northwest of Hatch
Doña Ana County officials warned residents after operators of the McLeod Dam reported an imminent failure northwest of Hatch, prompting a flash-flood emergency and a sequence of evacuation notices across affected towns. The National Weather Service issued an urgent warning to seek higher ground and the county activated its Ready, Set, Go planning guidance for residents in low-lying areas.
Chronology: the National Weather Service issued a flash-flood warning tied to the potential break of McLeod Dam. County postings moved nearby communities through the Ready-Set-Go phases: Rincon, Garfield and Salem were placed on GO and urged to use Interstate 25 as the evacuation route. Hatch was initially set on Ready; later updates show Doña Ana County issued an evacuation order for Hatch residents and added Rincon to the evacuation order as conditions worsened.
Agency actions and resources: Doña Ana County established sheltering at the Radium Springs Community Resource Center and the Doña Ana Community Resource Center, and advised evacuees to bring medications, identification, documents and supplies for children and pets. The American Red Cross is listed as providing services at one shelter. The county directed motorists to use I-25 as the main evacuation corridor and to monitor official county channels for status updates.
Allegations versus documented facts: operators of the dam reported an imminent failure, which triggered the flash-flood warning; that operator report and the county evacuation notices are the documented bases for the emergency response. Current documented status: evacuation orders and shelter locations were in place as described in county updates.
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