Tiffanie Wyatt, the aunt of the two children who died in the flooding, Charlotte and Sebastian Trotter, released a statement to ABC News and said their father, Sebastian Trotter and their mother, Stephanie, are continuing to receive treatment at a hospital in Texas.

"The main reason was the South Fork Fire last year that burned directly west of Ruidoso," Grzywacz said. "The soil wasn't able to absorb any of the rainfall, and it runs right down into Ruidoso. Normally, if you had that vegetation still there, it could absorb it. For the Ruidoso monsoon season, it was above average rain but not record rainfall."

Broken tree limbs, twisted metal, crumpled cars and muddy debris remained as crews worked to clear roads and culverts in the wake of Tuesday's flash flood that killed three people — including two children — and significantly damaged as many as 50 homes,

Mayor Lynn Crawford said hearts are broken over the lives lost and stomachs are in knots as residents begin to take stock of the damage.