LARGE BOSQUE FIRES DESTROY HOMES

After a weekend of fear and flames, two bosque fires that destroyed nearly a dozen homes and displaced more than 1,300 residents are on the way to being under control.

Saturday afternoon, a wildfire that started in the bosque southwest of the Los Lunas Main Street river bridge moved into the Carson Park neighborhood, destroying at least a dozen homes. Hardest hit was the area of La Rosas Drive.

Evacuations were ordered and residents sent to the Daniel Fernandez Recreation Center in Los Lunas for shelter and services.

Valencia County Fire Chief Matt Propp told the Albuquerque Journal that evening erratic wind conditions made it difficult to control the fire. By about 6:30 p.m., crews were able to engage the fire and cut containment lines with a dozer. Helicopter drops of water and fire suppression slurry also slowed the progress of the fire, named the Cotton Fire.

Propp said the fire is believed to be human-caused and there were reports of a person seen fleeing the area where the Cotton 1 fire was believed to be set on Saturday, June 21.

“There’s no other factor in the area. The question is only going to be whether it was intentional or unintentional,” Propp said. “We have an arson task force that’s being formed between local resources and the State Fire Marshal’s office, and they’ll be investigating once we can start to get things under control.”

Second fire, arson suspected

While the Cotton 1 Fire in Carson Park was kept within the fire lines over night, on Sunday morning, June 22, two more fires started in the bosque northeast of the original fire and Propp suspects they were intentional as well.

“We’ve had two new starts (in the bosque) this morning, which means we have an arsonist in the bosque starting fires,” Propp said that morning.

After the second fires started, Los Lunas Police Chief Frank Lucero said his department received “many, many tips” about potential suspects.

“It was pretty much anyone walking in that area,” Lucero said. “There was quite a bit of follow up.”

Since LLPD isn’t the lead agency for the fire investigation, the chief couldn’t offer any comment on the progress, but did say his department will dedicate as many resources as it can to the investigation, and “if there is anyone to hold accountable, we will.”

“Our hearts go out to everyone who suffered a loss. The small silver lining in this is seeing the community come together,” Lucero said Monday afternoon. “The firefighters have done a phenomenal job. Law enforcement has been going around the clock manning command posts.

“People have brought so many donations of food and water, helped with evacuations. All these different logistical operations are tiring and our guys stood up and answered the call. They are out there working their butts off. I’m definitely proud to be in Valencia County.”

More evacuations

The two new fires to the northeast of the bridge were close enough together they merged into one blaze, named the Cotton 2 Fire.

Both fires were northeast of the Los Lunas river bridge, Chief Propp said. When state forestry crews responded to the first fire just to the north of the bridge, they reported seeing another fire further to the north, he said.

The Cotton 2 Fire moved north through the bosque, causing evacuations on the east side of the river in the town of Peralta, and residents west of the Rio Grande were told to be ready to leave if necessary.

Evacuation orders for the Carson Park neighborhood and Peralta were rescinded Monday evening and people were allowed to return to their homes, if they were still standing.

The homes that burned in Carson Park were declared crime scenes by investigators. The New Mexico State Police and New Mexico State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating the cause of both Cotton fires, which were combined for management purposes as the Desert Willow Complex Fire.

As of Tuesday, June 24, the New Mexico Forestry Division estimated both fires burned a total of 237 acres, with the Cotton 1 fire at 40 percent containment and the Cotton 2 at 25 percent.

A total of 13 local firefighters sustained minor injuries over the weekend while battling the blazes.

On Saturday, 12 firefighters suffered from heat-related issues with two being transported to the hospital and released that night.

Sunday, a firefighter on the Cotton 2 fire was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and released that day.

Closures

Due to the ongoing firefighting efforts, Los Lunas Elementary closed its summer programs on Monday and Tuesday and the village of Los Lunas summer recreation programing at Daniel Fernandez Recreation Center was halted for the week of June 23-27.

To allow fire crews access to the bosque in order to continue fire suppression efforts, Los Lunas River Park on the southeast side of the river bridge is closed until further notice.

Three fires in five days

The two Cotton fires were the second and third bosque blazes in the Los Lunas area in less than a week.

In the early morning hours of Wednesday, June 18, VCFD and the Los Lunas Fire Department responded to a fire about a 1/10 of a mile southwest of the bridge.

Named the Kid Fire, that blaze was slightly north of the Cotton 1 fire. No structures were burned in that fire and it was held to about 15 acres.

According to a post on the VCFD Facebook page, the Kid Fire is still under investigation but considered human caused, which doesn’t mean it was intentional.

Disaster declaration

At an emergency meeting of the Valencia County Commission on Monday, June 23, the commissioners unanimously approved a disaster declaration to secure funding to cover the county’s costs for the response to and recovery from the Cotton fires.

During the meeting, Los Lunas Fire Chief John Gabaldon thanked the community for its overwhelming support and the resources it provided.

“Every community is coming out to help and that is crucial to our response,” Gabaldon said.

PHOTOS: Desert Willow Complex Fire (June 21-22)

State representatives Tanya Mirabel Moya and Brian Baca were also at the meeting and expressed their gratitude to the wide array of first responders helping and the community members.

“I’ve been overwhelmed by the outpouring from the community,” Moya said. “It’s been a crazy couple of days and we are so grateful to the community members, firefighters and village of Los Lunas employees. They have been amazing. I think they are working on just as little sleep as the firefighters.”

Baca offered his heartfelt prayers and well wishes to all those effected by the fires.

“Many families lost everything and are starting over,” he said. “I want to thank our first responders and everyone working actively on scene .... and those directing activities outside the scene. Unfortunately, it’s events like this that allow this kind of response ... to show how connected we are in Valencia County. This is an opportunity to bring out the best in people.”

As the fires still raged, residents across the county immediately rallied, bringing donations of food, water, clothing, toiletries and other necessities to the recreation center in Los Lunas and the Peralta Community Center, which the town opened as a second evacuation center on Sunday.

Resources for recovery

United Way of North Central New Mexico is partnering with the village of Los Lunas to support recover efforts from the Desert Willow Complex Fire.

“This is absolutely devastating for our community,” said Los Lunas Mayor Charles Griego. “We’ve seen countless families — many with young children — lose everything in a matter of moments.

“But as heartbreaking as this is, I’ve also been deeply moved by the outpouring of support from our business community... For those who are able, I encourage them to donate through the United Way to support ongoing fire recovery efforts. Our community is hurting, but together, we can help our neighbors begin to rebuild.”

To donate, visit give.uwncnm.org/campaign/699958/donate. All funds raised will go toward helping residents rebuild and recover.

To help Valencia County residents impacted by the recent fires and emergency personnel stay connected, Comcast has opened 438 public Xfinity WiFi hotspots in the area. The hotspots are available now and free for anyone to use.

For more information about the hotspots and how to connect to them, visit newmexico.comcast.com.

A team with American Red Cross New Mexico is set up at the Daniel Fernandez Recreation Center, with the first order of business to offer people who lost their homes shelter.

“Our posture is always we’re there until the last person has a place to stay,” said Georgi Donchetz, regional communications director for American Red Cross of New Mexico and Arizona. “With a fire like this, where structures are involved, there is a transition process. Are their homes livable? Do they need a long-term place to stay? Whatever the case, we are still there to help.”

Donchetz said even if someone doesn’t stay at the shelter at the recreation center, residents can access Red Cross resources.

“I recommend people still stop in. If in the evacuation, they forgot their medication or eyeglasses and can’t go back for them, we can help get replacements,” she said. “We can also help people with mental health. This is a traumatic situation.”

Once the team has left Los Lunas or if someone can’t make it to the center while they are on scene, Donchetz said residents can call 1-800-RED-CROSS for assistance.

“They will be paired with a caseworker until their needs are met even if we aren’t physically there,” she said. “People can call any time.”

On Saturday, June 21, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the state had obtained federal emergency funding to send additional firefighting crews, engines and air support to combat the Cotton 1 Fire.