SBA offers loans for Ruidoso wildfire victims

Diana Castillo | KOB

Loans available for Ruidoso wildfire victims

The Small Business Administration details how they are stepping in to help people, not just business owners, affected by the wildfires in Ruidoso.

RUIDOSO, N.M. — Reality is sinking in for many homeowners and business owners who lost everything to the Ruidoso wildfires.

Hope and help are pouring into the village, though. The Small Business Administration is gearing up to help with federal disaster loans available now for those in Lincoln County and the Mescalero Apache Tribe.

“For homeowners, we can lend up to $500,000 to repair their primary dwelling. And for homeowners and renters, we can lend up to $100,000 to replace personal property including cars, for businesses we can lend up to $2 million,” said Cynthia Cowell, with the SBA.

There are two types of loans people can apply for:

  1. Physical Damage Loans – Deadline: August 19
  2. Economic Injury Disaster Loans – Deadline: March 20, 2025

“A business may not have suffered any physical damage but if they cant be open because of the fires. They are losing lots of income at that point,” Cowell said.

The SBA will have recovery centers where people can come in and apply for the loans. Amounts and terms are set based on an applicant’s financial situation.