High winds blow off Heart of the Desert roof
Nicole Maxwell
Strong winds damaged at least one building in the Tularosa Basin on Wednesday.
Heart of the Desert Pistachios and Wine, at 7288 U.S. Highway 54 had part of its roof blown off Wednesday.
First responders arrived on scene at around noon and were still evacuating at 2 p.m
Otero County Emergency Manager Paul Quairoli said weather has caused a power outage in the Sacramento Mountains that could last up to 14 hours.
There have been reports of a tree falling on power lines and another tree fell on a house.
"Members should anticipate being out of power through the evening, overnight, and into tomorrow. Please make necessary preparations for this extended outage," Otero County Electric Cooperative said on its Facebook page.
Extreme winds have been recorded across southern New Mexico. In southeastern New Mexico, tornadoes touched down near the towns of Dexter and Loving. At San Augustin Pass, which allows US 70 to cut through the Organ Mountains, the National Weather Service reported a gust of 101 miles per hour.