Residents in the New Mexico village of Ruidoso were told to immediately flee Monday because of a wildfire that was discovered west of town that morning and grew to more than 5,000 acres by the end of the day, officials said.

“Immediate mandatory ‘go’ evacuation for the Village of Ruidoso — go now!!” the village government said on its Facebook page in all capital letters shortly before 7 p.m.

The South Fork Fire was discovered at around 9 a.m. Monday on the Mescalero Reservation west of…