Fort Worth native loses home in New Mexico wildfire

A Fort Worth native is among hundreds who’ve lost homes in devastating wildfires in New Mexico.

The South Fork Fire and Salt Fire are still burning with two dead and dozens of others listed as missing.

Dave Millsap shared a photo of him leaving his and his wife’s Ruidoso home. It was one of the last images recorded on his Ring doorbell before the house burned to the ground.

“By the time I got down the mountain to meet up with Carol to evacuate, my Ring camera went offline,” said Millsap.

That was a week ago Monday.

Since then, Millsap hasn’t been allowed back but received photos of his property from friends in the fire department.

“They sent me a couple of pictures with the simple words, ‘We’re sorry,’ with a little heart,” explained Millsap.

Their home is among 1,400 structures damaged or destroyed by the two wildfires.

Both were less than 60% contained on Tuesday evening.

“All that they had is no longer there,” said Jordan Miller, a north Texan and Ruidoso native.

Miller spoke with NBC 5 from Ruidoso where she traveled Monday to deliver donations collected at Deuce’s Bar in Dallas.

“It’s heartbreaking and hard to kind of swallow because it’s just black, you know, and burnt down to the ground,” said Miller.

After a week-long evacuation order, some homeowners in Ruidoso are returning to what’s left.

In other areas, door-to-door searches continue for nearly 30 people unaccounted for by my officials.

The FBI is asking for the public’s help in identifying the cause of the fires.

“The whole place is a crime scene. My house is a crime scene,” said Millsap.

Millsap, a musician from Fort Worth, moved to New Mexico eight years ago.

He says about a dozen guitars and many memories were left behind when he was forced to evacuate.

He says he plans to channel his loss into his music.

“What I do is I sing, and I make people feel good whenever they’re ready to turn me loose,” said Millsap.

The FBI is offering up to a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of “the person or persons responsible for starting the fires.”