The death toll from forest fires in the Us state of New Mexico has risen to two. State police reported finding an unidentified body in a burned vehicle near Ruidoso, and the body of 60-year-old Patrick Pearson was discovered near a hotel in the same area. The South Fork and Salt fires have scorched over 23,000 acres in the Ruidoso and Mescalero Apache regions, destroying more than 1,400 structures, including around 500 homes. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham called the fires among the state’s most destructive and requested President Joe Biden to declare a disaster. Prolonged drought conditions have exacerbated the impact of wildfires in the state.