New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday confirmed at least one person has died as a result of two large wildfires threatening Lincoln and Otero counties.

“As many New Mexicans are already aware, we are battling two major fires,” Lujan Grisham said in a news conference in Santa Fe.

Lujan Grisham declared a state of emergency in Lincoln and Otero counties and the Mescalero Apache Reservation where the South Fork and Salt fires have consumed over 20,000 acres and destroyed an estimated 1,400 structures.

“The men and women who put their lives on the line, including State Police and firefighters, (New Mexico National) guardsmen and woman and their families, are doing amazing work, and the number of New Mexicans who are helping with livestock, resources and are offering up their own homes for shelter shows me once again the generosity and compassion of the people in this state,” Lujan Grisham said.

Watch the press conference with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham:

One person reported dead in New Mexico wildfires

In a conversation with KUNM, Ruidoso Mayor Lynn Crawford said the single death is the only reported as of Tuesday, June 18.

The name of the person has not been released to the media.

It was unclear by Tuesday afternoon the exact circumstances of the person’s death.

State of emergency means resources can flow to New Mexico

Lujan Grisham said the emergency declaration “means resources can flow readily” to New Mexico.

Evacuations of impacted communities largely successful

Lujan Grisham said about 5,000 persons (residents of the Village of Ruidoso ) were evacuated, and while many have found shelter, about 500 are in 10 shelters and service centers in Roswell.

The fires had grown substantially since their ignition and were still not contained, though efforts continued she said, with 17 federal and state agencies on the ground, 800 personnel involved and 13 wildfire hotshot crews.

She pointed to the successful large scale evacuation of the Village of Ruidoso, Ruidoso Downs and Mescalero in addition to the evacuation of seven patients from a local hospital and 17 residents from a living facility.

She discouraged traveling in southeast New Mexico near the location of the fires, even in areas where roads are open as a precaution.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: 1 dead in Ruidoso wildfires; New Mexico governor declares emergency