More than 70 goats rescued as responders work to save animals in Socorro County flooding

SOCORRO COUNTY, N.M. – Tulsa rescue crews used drones and boats to save 78 goats, a donkey and stranded cattle as flooding in the area also wiped out a family farm.

On Thursday, Tulsa Fire Department Lt. Logan McCormic flew a drone over flooded farmland near San Antonio to look for stranded cattle, with success.

“I found about 7 head of cattle out there,” McCormic said, describing an area about mile and half from where he launched the drone.

Tulsa crews also worked with the New Mexico National Guard to rescue goats from the floodwaters in the San Antonio area the day before.

“We did rescue 79 of them yesterday, It was a lot of work, we had three boats out there” McCormic said.

Socorro County Emergency Manager Fred Berger said floodwaters proved deadly for some goats.

“We actually did lose multiple livestock in the flooding event,” Berger said.

Thursday night people from impacted areas attended an informational meeting at Socorro City Hall.

Jeff Jones attended the meeting, he lives on a farm in Luis Lopez with his family. He said rain in September flooded and damaged the property, including his parents’ home.

“My parents house flooded it had about 30 inches of water in it, it’s an adobe house, so we’re not sure if it can be saved yet or not” Jones said.

Jones said his family also faced a personal loss during the flooding and moved his mother into a camp trailer.

“During all of this, we lost my dad,” Jones said. “So it’s just my mom and we had to move her into a camp trailer, she’s living in a camp trailer”

Jones said it will take years to rebuild the family’s alfalfa farm after floodwaters washed out irrigation ditches and ruined the fields.

“The farms a, pretty much a total loss, all the irrigation ditches are washed up, the fields are ruined” Jones said.

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