Alamogordo declares emergency at Bonita Lake

Bonita Lake north of Ruidoso

From the Alamogordo Daily News - Alamogordo has once again stopped pumping water from Bonito Lake after concerns that it has become unusable because of runoff from the charred watershed surrounding the lake.  The Alamogordo City Commission declared an emergency at Bonito Lake on Tuesday night because of damage caused by the Little Bear fire burning in the area, a necessary step in receiving federal assistance to repair the lake.  "This is required as part of the FEMA process," said utilities director and interim Public Works director Brian Cesar. "FEMA will be in Alamogordo on Thursday morning to begin the process for the flooding and debris we had deposited at Bonito Lake last Friday." Cesar said the city stopped drawing water from Bonito Lake on Friday.  He said the lake was continuing to be drained Wednesday and was about 9 feet below the spillway. He said divers were going to continue working on the lake Thursday.  He said portions of the watershed surrounding Bonito Lake suffered heavy damage as a result of the Little Bear fire.  "It's basically bare earth and sticks where the pines used to be," Cesar said. Cesar said the city stopped drawing water from Bonito Lake last Friday. It had previously done so earlier in the month as a precaution but began drawing water from Bonito again.  The lake supplies Alamogordo with about 15 percent of its water. Read more

Alamogordo declares emergency at Bonita Lake