Wind-whipped fire destroys homes, outbuildings in Bosque Farms

BOSQUE FARMS—Fast-traveling winds, dry conditions and high-flying embers destroyed several homes and outbuildings in Bosque Farms Thursday afternoon.

The tight-knit community came together during the emergency situation, helping each other find shelter, move animals and just be there for a shoulder to cry on and much-needed hugs.

The fire, which has been named the Rio Grande Fire, started at 3:53 p.m., Thursday, April 17, west of the Rio Grande and Bosque Farms on Isleta land. George Ducker, the communications coordinator for New Mexico State Forestry, said the flames were moved by fast-moving winds to the east side of the river and into the Bosque Farms area.

Fire crews from Bosque Farms, Valencia County, Peralta, Los Lunas, Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Bernalillo County, Santa Fe County, Cibola County, Sandoval County, Cochiti Lake, the N.M. Forestry Division and more descended on the small farming community to try and stop the flames.

The Rio Grande Fire in Bosque Farms was transitioned to a Type 3 Incident, meaning it’s now being managed by a state incident team.

Because of the ongoing threat, residents living off W. Bosque Loop between Lillie and Cottonwood Drive were asked to evacuate. An evacuation center was set up at Daniel Fernandez Recreation Center, and several local venues arranged for livestock to be taken. New Mexico Livestock was also in Bosque Farms Thursday to help bring out livestock to be relocated.

When crews arrived, Ducker said the fire “had already intermixed with structures, and they are currently still trying to put out hot spots.”

Ducker sent out a second update at about 11:45 a.m. Friday, saying the fire had ripped through about 60 acres, and the cause is still being investigated. Initially, he had estimated the fire to have burned 150 acres. Damage assessment will continue Friday.

“Response crews worked through the night on the Rio Grande Fire and were able to raise the containment percentage to 10 percent. Two divisions were established on the north and south sides of the fire, which had moved into the vegetation alongside the Bosque Farms community,” Ducker wrote. “Crews today will look to improve containment lines and continue extinguishing interior hot spots within the bosque area. Acreage on the fire decreased to an estimated 60 acres, although more accurate GPS mapping will commence today.”

According to a Facebook post by the Bosque Farms Police Department at about 9 p.m. Thursday, “three structures were a total loss while (two) others were damaged and approximately (eight) out buildings were a loss as well.”

The fire department reported several residents in the area of Dolly Lane and Truchas Trail were also asked to evacuate.

“The fire has been contained to the bosque while fire crews are still active in the area ... and extinguishing hot spots. Evacuations at this time are halted. More updates as (the) situation evolves.”

As firefighters and first responders worked all night to save as many properties as they could, the community was also working long into the night to make sure people were safe and secure as well.

Rose Poitras, the director of the Bosque Farms Community Center, heard the news of the fire after she had returned home from work. She immediately called Bosque Farms Mayor Chris Gillespie and threw together a quick “go bag” and went back to open the center for whatever it could be used.

Her husband, Scott, said he called to check on her every few hours. On the first check in, “she had a handful of people that couldn’t get home; several volunteers, including some prominent Bosque Farms leaders and many firefighters coming in for rest and water breaks.”

At his last check in for the night, at about 10:30 p.m., Scott Poitras said the community center had become a “bivouac for firefighters. She had lined up several volunteers to work in shifts throughout the night.”

As residents waited and worried for the winds to calm down and the fire to be contained, those who could worked to protect their own properties, including Mike Powers, the News-Bulletin’s sports writer.

Powers lives in the affected area with his wife, Pat, and cat, Amelia. He had just returned home from covering an assignment when he saw the smoke in his neighborhood.

“Pat and I were watching television a little after 4 p.m. when Pat saw a large plume of smoke out the window,” Mike said. “We scrambled outside and the whole area to the west was covered in a cloud of smoke. It was obvious a fire a had broken out somewhere around the bosque and close by.”

Mike said it was also clear that with the very high winds, this fire could be really bad.

“It was scary as hell,” he said. “Soon, we had our first of dozens of conversations with our neighbors, each of us trying to gather information. Our neighbors were wonderful, sharing with us what they knew or heard, offering to help anyway they could.

“I grabbed my VCNB camera gear and headed toward the smoke on foot. Emergency crews arrived shortly before I did. From a safe distance, I could see an outbuilding near one home on fire, with at least one cottonwood tree ablaze,” he reported. “On a nearby property, another outbuilding was engulfed, with horses in the corral started to show concern. A water truck had arrived and was spraying the area, including the grass field that was adjacent.”

By that time, there was a full emergency response. Mike decided it was time to head home to protect his property.

The longtime Bosque Farms resident said he saw one neighbor had climbed onto his home’s roof with a hose to spray it down. Mike continued to run their irrigation in the pasture, but that ended when the electricity went out, shutting down the pump.

“I took out our hose and tried to spray down the house as best I could, the face of it as well as the roof; however, the wind was whipping so badly, back and forth, it made it really difficult,” he described. “We gathered up our essentials, important papers, medications, just in case we had to evacuate quickly.”

Essential information was sometimes challenging to gather, Mike said. Internet was spotty and the electricity was out, so his neighbors shared what they had learned, and family members and friends would call and send texts with details about what they needed to know.

“Others were checking in on us out of concern for our safety. It was heartwarming and inspiring,” he said. “Pat and I will always be thankful.”

Aside from family safety, Mike could see the concern for the animals in everyone — from livestock to pet kitties and birds. A small parade of jittery horses was guided down the street, with the owner and a neighbor leading them several blocks to an awaiting trailer to take them to safety. One family took their own large horse trailer out to help others who needed to move their animals quickly.

“As the darkness set in, it was difficult to tell if the glow in the bosque was from emergency lights or fire. The smoke and smell from the fire remained well into the morning, as the immediate danger seemed to pass,” Mike said. “The sound of a chainsaw, presumably cutting down trees in the bosque, was heard much of the night. There was a definite sense of relief when the electricity came back on about 10:30 p.m.”

The Valencia County Commission held an emergency meeting Friday morning and unanimously approved an emergency resolution to declare a local emergency in response to the Rio Grande Fire currently burning in the northeast part of the village of Bosque Farms.

The resolution allows the county to access resources and reimbursement for expenses it incurs while fighting the fire.

At the meeting, Valencia County Fire Chief Matt Propp said so far 12 structures were lost in the fire, including houses, outbuildings, barns and garages. The chief said no residents have been injured due to the fire, but a couple of firefighters sustained minor injuries and have been treated and released.

All public information will be coming through the state forestry division, as well as any determinations about future evacuation notices.

“As we get better containment, we will have state fire investigators down,” the chief said.

During the meeting, Propp said it’s expected that winds will pick up by midday and there is the concern if wind speeds are similar to Thursday, there could be another severe fire incident later today.

(News-Bulletin staff writers Clara Garcia, Julia M. Dendinger and Mike Powers contributed to this report.)