NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – A man living in Cleveland, New Mexico has not been able to return home to his ranch since April of 2022. The Hermit’s Peak Calf Canyon fire tore through the area and flooding made his road impassable. Now, the flooding is already starting up again.
Isidro Archuleta has lived on his ranch in Cleveland for 36 years. He has never had issues like this with flooding before, but now he knows it’s the new normal as the mountains heal from the fire. His ranch is located in a canyon where he says they are seeing the worst of the flooding.
The flooding started back in July of 2022 and he says it’s starting up again. The road to his ranch is currently filled with mud and deep trenches. His ranch itself can fill up to look more like a lake at the worst of it. He isn’t expecting to be home anytime soon. “It’s going to flood all of Cleveland, my ranch will take out Cleveland cause we’re on the bottom of Walker’s Ledge and then Canoncito is gonna flood also,” said Archuleta.
Archuleta says all of the waterways in his area are already overflowing and it’s only March. Archuleta says the Forest Service and Mora County Commissioner Veronica Serna tried to make it up the mountain for repairs and were only able to make it to the first property. Right now, Archuleta and his family are staying in a trailer on a family friends property.
